Shadow of a Shadow
by Kelandry5
Summary: A gang abducts Kuroko and tortures him for four years because of a grudge against his lover, Akashi the leader of the Akashi yakuza family. When Akashi and Aomine finally find him, he's not the same Kuroko he used to be. He's broken and the leader of the gang wants him and Akashi dead. (Mature themes: abuse, ptsd, mentions of rape and drug use) AKAKURO
1. Found (Prologue)

**AU. In this universe, the Generation of Miracles was part of Teiko High School's basketball team (instead of middle school). During their third year, the sixth member, Kuroko, disappears. The other five search for him, but when high school ends, they each go their separate ways. Only Akashi and Aomine continue searching together praying the Kuroko is still alive. Four years later, Akashi is now the head of his family's business. Aomine is a police officer. They have all but given up on finding Kuroko alive when they receive a tip about his whereabouts. They finally track down their long lost friend, but are they prepared for what they find? Would it have been better if they never found Kuroko; if Kuroko had died instead?**

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 _Opinions wanted! I was thinking of making the reason Kuroko ended up in this 'hell' being because he was special to Akashi and Akashi's family dealt in the underground world (criminal, gang, drug type underworld, not demon underworld...although you could argue it's the same..) and someone was trying to hurt Akashi. But in my other fanfic, Kuroko going through hell is largely Akashi's fault, so should I cut Akashi some slack or make him partially guilty again? I might change this part slightly depending on which I choose._

 _(((TITLE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE LATER ON since I always struggle with a title when I first start a story and usually think of something better later on.)))_

 _AN: Yes, I have some desire to put Kuroko through terrible things. I just break him and put him back together again…Anyway, I'm not abandoning my other story. I thought of this while writing the other and didn't want to wait to start, so I will write both at the same time._

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"Tetsuya!"

Akashi stood in the door way of a small dark shed pointing a flashlight at a figure on the floor. There, in the middle of the dirt floor, a small, dirty, naked, blue haired boy was curled up and shivering, chained to the wall by his ankle, facing away from Akashi. Every bone in his body was plainly visible. Dried blood was caked onto his skin from various wounds of different types and sizes. He didn't move when Akashi called his name. In truth, he didn't recognize the voice. He wasn't entirely sure it was even his name that was called. It had been too long since anyone had called him by name. Actually, he wasn't sure the voice was real since it sounded a thousand miles away. It seemed absurd to think someone would be there anyhow. No one had come for some time now, several days at least, or maybe, he wasn't sure of that either.

When Akashi appeared in front of him and gathered him into a warm embrace, it took several moments for him to recognize the red head as someone he knew, and he still didn't know who the red head was exactly or how he knew him, just that he did in fact know him. He knew him, he was afraid of him, but it was different fear from that caused by the _other man._

Was this man with the red hair really here though? He wasn't sure. He knew his mind was teetering on the edges of consciousness and had been for a while. He wasn't so far gone that he couldn't understand that much. The darkness was finally swallowing him up though, and afraid as he was and as curious as he was, he couldn't hold on any longer. It seemed almost too good to be true, to slip away, to die, in the hands of someone other than the _man_ , even if it was an illusion created by his crumbling mind, even if he didn't know whose hands he was going limp in, it was one less regret to carry to the afterlife.

"Akashi, did you find him?" Another voice called out from somewhere outside the shed. The red head replied.

"Y…yes!" Akashi stuttered surprising himself and the owner of the other voice, Aomine. Akashi rarely lost his calm and composed demeanor. Whatever he was looking at had to be bad.

"Back up should be here any minute!" The dark skinned officer, Aomine, shouted before turning his attention back to the bastard he had pinned to the ground. The 'bastard' was weak from some type of illness and probably couldn't run off even if he was left alone, but Aomine wasn't risking it, even though he desperately wanted to know what Akashi was seeing to make him outwardly upset.

The sound of sirens was now audible in the distance, but it was far too distant for Akashi's comfort. The boy in his arms was freezing to the touch, not surprising since it was the coldest night of the year so far and probably wouldn't last much longer. He removed his coat and wrapped it around the small boy hoping to chase away some of the cold. He then pulled the smaller boy's body closer to his own and the two waited, Akashi sending silent prayers to every god he could think of to make things work out okay.

The body went limp in his arms while he prayed. He looked down only to notice that the previously shallow and strained breaths from the boy were nonexistent.

"Don't you dare! Tetsuya!" His mind was racing a million miles a second. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening, right? There is no way he was going to lose Tetsuya now. Four years of searching and exhausting resources, fighting every bit of evidence that said Tetsuya was gone for good, was not going to end like this! They had finally found him! Akashi couldn't bare the idea of losing him again. He refused to entertain it. Keeping himself as calm as possible, he began chest compressions and administered mouth to mouth, willing back up to arrive faster.

There was still no pulse. Back up must have arrived; he realized that much from how loud the sirens were and the voices of police officers and paramedics swarming the place. His focus remained on the small boy in front of him until the paramedics pulled him away and moved Kuroko onto a stretcher.

Suddenly he realized Aomine was beside him, and the only reason he hadn't fallen back to the ground after standing up. His whole body was shaking. He couldn't process his surroundings anymore. A firm grip on his shoulder was guiding him onto the ambulance where Tetsuya lay. Paramedics were desperately trying to revive the blue haired boy as the doors closed.


	2. Chapter 2: Akashi is Human

Akashi was faintly aware of the presence beside him during the ride, and the serious voices of the paramedics desperately trying to keep Kuroko alive. By the time they arrived at the hospital, Tetsuya's heart was beating again, but he was far from being out of danger. Akashi could only watch the blue hair on the hospital gurney disappear through white double doors. He let himself be guided by the presence beside him, into the hospitals waiting room. He was led to a chair and he let his body fall heavily into the seat. He was slowly grasping awareness of his surroundings when a warm cup of dark liquid was shoved into his hands. He gulps it and closes his eyes throwing his head back.

When he opens his eyes again, they rest upon Aomine's concerned and shaken expression. Only then does he realize that Aomine has been speaking this entire time.

"Akashi! Can you hear me? Snap out of it already!"

"I can hear you." Akashi's voice came out embarrassingly meek and defeated. He struggled to regain his normal composure, but failed. He was thankful Aomine had enough sense to lead him to a more discreet section of the waiting room that was deserted.

Aomine sighed. Although he himself had been shocked by the events, Akashi's reaction was probably the most frightening. His former basketball captain rarely lost his composure or showed any hint of what the man would call weakness. He was a rather stoic character, rarely unnerved. He was a stranger to fear except when instilling it in others. A proud, seemingly cold, bastard. This was the first time Aomine had seen Akashi act so…..human….like an emotional human being and a train wreck of one at that!

Seeing his old shadow dead in that awful wretched place was bad, but seeing Akashi in such a disheveled state threatened to prove itself even worse a sight.

"Have you calmed down?" It was a question Aomine feared to ask since he wasn't keen on the idea of having scissors imbedded in him for careless remarks towards the red head.

"How…?" Akash buried his head in his hands and cried. How? Why? Who? Questions threatened to throw him back into his previous state of shock, but he forced himself to maintain some shread of inner calm. Aomine, unsure how to treat this unusual display from his friend, pulled him into a rather awkward hug.

Aomine pulled out his phone to text Kise. He noticed a text from his supervisor and quickly read it (still holding the sobbing Akashi). The message just told him to call when he got the chance. That would have to wait. He clicked on Kise's name and typed a quick text.

He had told his lover about the tip about Kuroko's whereabouts and that he and Akashi were going to check it out before leaving that afternoon. Kise, like almost everyone else, had given up on finding Tetsu again, but didn't stand in his way. He wondered how Kise would react. He groaned at the thought. After watching Akashi, a man he thought he knew pretty well, react the complete opposite of what he expected, he wasn't sure he wanted to see anyone else's reactions.

Aomine was pulled from his thoughts when he felt Akashi move to a standing position. "Akashi?"

"I'm going to the front desk. Someone is going to have to fill out the paperwork for Tetsuya and I want to make sure….." He didn't need to continue. Aomine knew what the red head intended to make sure of. Akashi was a powerful man with more connections than Aomine cared to know about. It was obvious Akashi would use his power to threaten the entire hospital or even Japan in its entirety to make sure Tetsuya got the best care. In a way, it was probably necessary. Aomine winced at the thought of how invisible Tetsu could be. It wouldn't be hard for the hospital staff to completely overlook the boy. However, it was a little harder to miss the blue haired boy when Akashi was breathing down your neck. At least staff would remember Kuroko if for no other reason than they feared for their lives! Aomine had to crack a slight smile at that thought before his face set back in its previously grim expression.

Of course, Akashi was right about the fact someone would need to fill the forms out for Kuroko. Aomine gathered his jacket he had shed earlier and walked towards the front desk as well.

From the looks of things when Aomine arrived at the front desk, Akashi had already made himself known and established his connection to the patient currently under the hospitals care. Now he was staring at a small stack of forms and Aomine swore he could see the red head shaking ever so slightly.

"Hand them to me." He gestured to the forms. Akashi looked like he might murder Aomine for a brief second before relinquishing the forms to Aomine.

"I need to get some air. I'll be outside." With that, Akashi left the room.

Aomine was filling out the forms when a blonde appeared before him. He looked up, his eyes meeting Kise's. Placing the papers aside, he stood and hugged his boyfriend tightly. He didn't cry though. He just held onto Kise in silence.

After a few minutes he pulled away. Kise was giving him a strange expression.

"Sorry Ryota…it's been a long day." Aomine sighed and slumped back into the seat.

"Tell me what's going on!" It was a quiet shout that Aomine wasn't expecting which startled him.

"We found Tetsuya. I told you that."

"Daikicchi.." Kise plastered a pouting expression on his face, something he was quite good at doing. "What's going on? Why is Akashicchi crying? Kurokocchi is alive right? So why is he crying? Why did you hug me for so long?"

"It's better if you don't know."

"Daikicchi!" Kise fixed him with a deadly stare. It was a newer one of Kise's expressions and never had it been as deadly as in that moment. Aomine flinched.

"Ryouta….We don't know much ourselves so it's hard to say. We saw some….some things…" He was trying to protect Kise by only giving vague details of the situation, but found himself longing to spill. His own heart wanted protection. It needed comfort. Aomine leaned into Ryota, pressing his head against his lovers chest, and began to cry. Ryouta let him. Aomine and Akashi were in the kind of work where they saw terrible things on a daily basis that would make most people faint or lose their sanity. He had never seen Akashi lose his composure, and Aomine almost never cried, and certainly not where anyone except Ryouta could witness.

Kise was feeling a bit glad Aomine hadn't told him now. Maybe it really was better if he didn't know. At least for the moment.

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Sorry for not updating sooner! I wrote this chapter and forgot to post it. On the upside, I'm almost done with the third chapter.

Sorry if the plot is progressing a bit slowly. I kind of want to take my time with this story.


	3. Chapter 3: Damage Done

Reviews/comments are very much appreciated! Hope you enjoy!

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After a few minutes passed with Aomine in Kise's arms, Aomine sniffled and straightened up, wiping the last few tears from his eyes. It was just in time to avoid Akashi seeing him in such a pathetic state as Akashi appeared before them a moment later. Akashi gave a quick nod to Kise to acknowledge him.

"Did you finish filling out the forms?" The red heads question was directed at Aomine.

"Uh…not quite." Aomine picked the forms up again and started scribbling in answers till he was done. He took the forms to the front desk and then returned to his seat.

The three sat there in silence. They were each lost in their own thoughts when a doctor approached them twenty minutes later.

"Akashi-sama?" The doctor looked at Akashi. The two were familiar with each other.

"Hai." Akashi hesitated before looking up at the doctor. "What's the news? How is Tetsuya?"

"Uh," the doctor glanced a bit nervously at Aomine and Kise. "Perhaps we should talk somewhere more private…"

"Here is fine. They, "he gestured to his companions, "are friends of mine and Tetsuyas."

"Alright." The doctor took a deep but shaky breath. Akashi was someone he knew to fear, especially when giving bad news, which is what he was about to do. It wasn't the worst news he could be giving, but it was far from good news and he wasn't sure how the younger man would take it. He didn't really have a choice though. "Your friend Kuroko is currently in the ICU. There is a long list of problems though. I can only assume he had been mistreated for several years. He is severely malnourished and dehydrated. He had hypothermia when he arrived. There are multiple bruises and lacerations. A couple of which are infected, covering his body and evidence of multiple broken bones that healed, some showing signs of multiple breaks over a time period of a couple years most likely. Currently, he has a broken left wrist, two broken fingers on his left hand, three broken ribs, and his right fibula and tibia are broken in multiple places. He may not regain full use of his legs. There are signs of organ damage as well. It appears that the majority of the damage should be reversible though." The doctor sighed before continuing, avoiding looking at Akashi. "There is evidence of…of long term sexual abuse as well. We did a rape kit…but it may not yield any results if the rapist cleaned up after himself. We are also running blood tests to check for any other possible conditions, but we won't have the results for a few more hours. We expect to find some type of illegal drugs in his system though. We found marks on his arm suggesting drug use. For now, it looks like there is minimal permanent physical damage….assuming he survives this. He is barely holding on right now though. If he survives the next 48 hours….his chances of making almost a full recovery are good….however, his chances of making it through the night, let alone the next two days…I'll be honest with you….it's less than 50%. His body is just so weak right now." The doctor finally dared to look at the three young men in front of him. Their faces were as white as paper, eyes wide and full of horror and what was probably anger mixed with pain. The doctor continued hesitantly. "We will do everything we can for him, but I should also mention one last thing. If he survives, it's like I said, his chances of making almost a full recovery are pretty good, however, that is only physically. I've only seen a few cases of abuse to this extent and we won't know anything for sure till he wakes up but….I think I should warn you…the mental damage….it's…..it's p…probably far worse than the physical damage…..others…u…usually don't recover from the mental damage…not fully. If and when he wakes up….he might not be the same person he was. I'm only guessing since I can only guess at the situation by the story his injuries tell, but I thought I should warn you." The doctor, finally finished, stood up.

"Doctor?"

The doctor froze when Akashi spoke. He had been relieved that the man seemed too much in shock to react, but now he was sure he was in trouble. "Yes?"

"Can we see him?"

The doctor studied the red head for a moment surprised that the man had asked instead of demanded and surprised at the reaction overall. He had expected something more violent.

"I don't know if that is such a good idea…" The doctor started, but scanning the faces of the three men, he sighed and changed his mind. "You can see him, but only for a few minutes. If he is stable tomorrow, you can visit with him longer, but I think it's best you keep it short tonight. You don't want to be in the way if something happens." He explained then gestured for the men to follow him. Akashi stood then glanced back at the other two when he realized they weren't standing.

"Aomine? Kise?"

"It's okay Akashi. We can wait till tomorrow." Aomine felt it would be good to give him some time alone with Kuroko. He knew how his ex-captain felt towards his old shadow. Akashi nodded as a thank you and followed the doctor to the ICU.

"You can have five minutes." The doctor warned as he opened the door and Akashi entered the room. Akashi nodded and the doctor left.

Akashi walked over to the bed and took in the sight. Most of Kuroko's skin, not covered in white bandages, was colored with blues, yellows, reds, greens, purples, and black due to bruises and scars. Akashi hadn't realized how bad it was before since Kuroko had been covered in so much dirt and dried blood, but now he had been cleaned up. His face looked different now. It was a bit older, but more noticeably, his cheeks were sunken in, his eyes were dark, and his blue hair was thin, dry, and brittle. The rest of him looked frail too. He was so thin. Akashi was careful when he took Kuroko's hand. The red head was careful not to disrupt the various tubes and wires connecting Kuroko to various IV's and machines and careful not to squeeze the hand he held too hard.

"I'm sorry Tetsuya…I should have found you sooner….I'm so sorry.." he whispered. Then he leaned over and gently kissed Kuroko's forehead before leaving the room.


	4. Chapter 4: Product

_I'm sorry. This chapter isn't the most exciting thing in the world. The next one should be better. I updated my other story too btw._

 _Comments/reviews are very much appreciated. They make me smile and brighten up my whole day. Yes. I realize that is pathetic. I have no life. Hush._

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Akashi headed back to the waiting room when he felt his phone vibrate. Taking it out of his pocket, he checked the caller I.D. and saw the name of one of his "employees."

"This is Akashi." He spoke while making his way past the waiting room to the outside. "Did you find something?"

"We did sir…but you aren't going to like it."

"Spit it out."

"After you left, the cops discovered 6 more males in the basement of the house, but they weren't in need of immediate medical attention so the cops and Masaomi took them to see if they could get some answers."

"Is that all?" Akashi was getting annoyed. He didn't care if there were more. That wasn't enough to require calling him.

"No. We questioned the man that police officer friend of yours captured. Luckily, he's not very loyal to his own. The house belongs to the Kintatsu-kai. Its main purpose is for housing their 'products'." The man on the phone paused. Akashi's grip on his phone tightened with the last sentence. The Kintatsu-kai was a gang involved in human trafficking. Their 'product' was humans. They "rented" out their products for sex or even just as human punching bags and other cruel purposes. He had never heard of them keeping products in a house before though and it didn't explain why Tetsuya was in a shed in the back instead of the basement with the others.

"Why is the Kintatsu-kai using a house to store their product."

"Apparently these products were for the groups personal use. The captured man, he calls himself a caretaker, said they bring some boys to the house for a period of time to be used for the gangs personal use for a while and then are sent back for business use." Akashi was getting angry. He had kept his cool so far but every word felt like nails on a chalkboard in his head.

"Why wasn't Tetsuya being kept with the other boys?" Perhaps he wasn't being used for such purposes.

"The caretaker said the boss said Tetsuya was a special case. Apparently he was kept there for a long time compared to other boys and was always kept separate. He said his boss mentioned something once about revenge or something but he isn't sure."

"Is that all?"

"Yes sir."

"Then get back to work!" Akashi ended the call and shoved his phone back in his pocket before punching the wall several times. He was pissed. No. He was far beyond pissed. He was pissed when a deal didn't go as planned. He was pissed when someone disobeyed important orders. He was pissed when someone did a half-assed job. He was pissed when his driver was late. He was pissed when he had to do extra work because of someones stupidity. What he was feeling right now was far beyond pissed off. Every muscle in his body was itching to find Kintatsu-kai's boss and kill him as slowly and painfully as possible. Instead, he beat up the innocent wall for several minutes before walking back into the waiting room. He sat back down angrily in the chair across from Aomine, leaned back, and closed his eyes. Luckily, Aomine and Kise had already dozed off so he didn't have to explain his angry expression. He let himself drift off as well.

When he finally woke up, the early morning sun was pouring through the windows of the waiting room. He stood and gently shook Aomine awake.

"Morning." Aomine mumbled looking up at Akashi.

"I'm going to get a room at the hotel across the street. I'll get you a room too." The three of them lived close to an hour away and Akashi figured Aomine wouldn't want to be so far away from Tetsuya anymore than he would.

"Uh thanks. I think we will take you up on your offer. You have my cell. Will you call if you hear from the doctor?" Aomine was gently shaking Kise awake now.

"Yeah. You two should order some room service and get some rest though. It will probably be a while."

"Yeah, okay." Aomine agreed.

"What's going on?" Kise asked now awake and confused.

"We are going to the hotel across the street." Aomine informed.

"Okay."

"Daiki." Akashi suddenly spoke up again.

"What?"

"There is something else I need to tell you." Akashi suddenly had an expression Aomine and Kise couldn't quite figure out. It might have been discomfort or concern.

"What's going on?"

"I got a call from one of my uh… 'employees' last night."

"You know Ryouta already knows the kind of business you are in right?"

Akashi nodded. He had actually forgotten that Kise knew since the two never spoke about it. "Anyway, apparently the house where Tetsuya was found belongs to the Kintatsu-kai. It was storage space for their product that was being used for the gangs personal pleasure."

"Product? Like drugs or merchandise?" Kise asked confused.

"No." Akashi sighed. Aomine explained for him.

"He means humans, or slaves really, that are rented out as prostitutes or punching bags depending on the client's desires." Aomine kept his voice low and squeezed Kise's hand when he saw the blonde stiffen with wide eyes.

"Akashicchi…..does that mean…th…they w…were u..using Kurokocchi f…for…" He could bring himself to say it. He didn't want to think that was possible. A huge wave of guilt suddenly crashed into him making him tremble. He had given up on finding Kuroko after high school, just like most of the others that knew him. He probably wouldn't have been much help even if he kept searching. He realized that. It was part of why he chose to stop. Still, this knew knowledge made him feel guilty for it. Maybe if everyone hadn't given up….maybe if he hadn't given up….maybe Kuroko wouldn't be in that hospital bed right now.

"Ryouta?"

"Oi, Ryouta?"

Kise was pulled from his thoughts when he heard Akashi and Aomine call his name.

"Yes?"

"Are you alright?" Aomine asked concerned. Kise nodded.

"Anyway, we don't know why Tetsuya was there. I know you can take care of yourself, but I'm having one of my guards keep an eye on you two for now until we get more information. The Kintatsu-kai might come after you and I don't intend to let them lay a hand on any more of my friends. I'll call you later. Get some rest now." Akashi turned and left before Aomine could argue. Arguing wouldn't have accomplished anything anyway. At least the red head had told him about the guard so he wouldn't freak out thinking there was a stalker stalking him like last time.

"We should get out of here too Ryouta. Lets go to the hotel."

"Okay."

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 _I used a website to come up with the name of the gang. As far as I know, it's not a real gang. The name is a combination of the Japanese word for golden (Kin) and the word for dragon (Tatsu). The Kai at the end indicates it's an association._


	5. Chapter 5: No Change

_Sorry it's such a short chapter and sorry it took so long to update it. It's kind of slow too._

 _Anyway, if you want faster updates, drop a review or comment! Those usually light a fire under my butt...or hands...either way._

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Akashi stepped out of the shower in his hotel room and dried himself off before dialing the number of one of his men.

"Any news?" Akashi asked as soon as the other man had answered the phone.

"Yes sir."

"Out with it then." Akashi growled obviously irritated.

"Do you remember a man named Okazaki Riichi?"

Akashi frowned at the name. It sounded somewhat familiar. Then he remembered! He had met Okazaki, Riichi's father presumably, once before. It was before his father retired and gave up head of the business to Akashi. His father had more or less destroyed Okazaki, taking over his territory and killing Okazaki's lover, ultimately leading to Okazaki's suicide

"I remember his father." Akashi finally replied.

"Riichi is the current head of the Kintatsu-kai. He took the position four years ago."

 _Four years ago. Tetsuya disappeared four years ago. It doesn't seem likely the two things would be connected, but it's odd for a coincidence,_ Akashi thought to himself. _But why would Okazaki's son be the head of the Kintatsu-kai?_ Thoughts began rushing through Akashi's brain as he tried to connect and make sense of this new information. He had a feeling, call it intuition if you will, that this information was vital to figuring out why Tetsuya was kidnapped.

"Boss?" The man on the phone spoke when Akashi didn't reply after a minute. It snapped Akashi out of his thoughts.

"Get more information. I want to know everything there is about the Kintatsu-kai and their leader yesterday! Now go!" Akashi barked the order before ending the call and slamming the phone down on the table. This was taking too long and it frustrated him. All of it had taken too long. It shouldn't have taken four years to find Kuroko. It shouldn't have taken hours to interrogate the bastards at that house. It shouldn't be taking this long to get information. He should have it. He should know everything already. He should have the answers by now. Okazaki Riichi should be dead by now. Every damn member of Kintatsu-kai should be dead by now. Yet he couldn't even kill them now. He didn't have enough information. He didn't have a plan and he couldn't gather his thoughts enough to make one.

Akashi got dressed, flopped onto the bed and put his arm over his face. It was all too much. He was usually so calm and able to come up with the perfect plan right away. He usually had answers. It wasn't like him for his thoughts to be a chaotic mess like this. All it took was seeing Kuroko in that condition, watching Kuroko pass through those double doors and the uncertainty of whether Kuroko would still be alive tomorrow to turn him into a mess. _Tetsuya….I need you to be okay…I need you to wake up…_ Akashi drifted off to sleep.

Akashi didn't open his eyes again until the sun was already beginning to set. He looked over at the clock that glowed with the numbers 5:30. He decided he would go to the hospital to check on Kuroko's condition. Sure he could just call and find out, but he wanted to see Kuroko. He needed that visual physical confirmation that Tetsuya was indeed alive and safe. He texted Aomine to let him know he was going and then made his way over.

Nothing had changed since he last saw Kuroko. The sight was just as painful, but it was also comforting. Akashi leaned down and planted a quick but gentle kiss on the bluenettes cheek.

"I'm back Tetsuya." He spoke as if the boy in the bed could hear him. He took a seat between the bed and the window and settled in, watching the faint rise and fall of Kuroko's chest. As he watched, he thought back to what the doctor had said the previous night. The physical damage was bad, but what would the mental damage be like? Akashi was no stranger to the underworld. He had seen what becomes of its victims plenty of times. He didn't want to think of Kuroko turning out like that, but it had been four years. Akashi knew that no matter how strong Kuroko was, there was practically no chance he would have been able to suffer so long and come out the same person he was before. It just didn't happen.

For four years, he told himself that Tetsuya was okay. The boy was practically invisible which Akashi reasoned was why it was so hard to find him. Kuroko probably left willingly and just didn't want to be found. It was still unlikely that he could hide from Akashi given the mans unending connections and power, but Akashi let himself believe he would one day find Kuroko some place peaceful and Kuroko would smile and call him Bakashi for worrying all this time. That was how he thought for four years in order to keep pressing forward. Last night those thoughts ended. He was forced to face a far more frightening truth and he couldn't deny the sight before him now.

The red head reached out to grip Kurokos hand and held it while muttering prayers. He wasn't religious and he didn't pray, usually. Religion was for the weak. That was what he believed. But right now, he was weak. He was weaker than he had ever been before. Even when Kuroko had first disappeared, he remained strong. But now he was weak, so maybe now was a good time to start praying.

Aomine and Kise had waited an hour after receiving Akashi's text to head over to the hospital. They felt it was best to give their ex-captain some space. After all, Akashi had taken it the hardest, harder the Aomine even, when he learned of Kuroko's disappearance.

When they arrived in Kuroko's room, Kise broke down. It was the first time Kise had seen Kuroko in four years and Aomine had forgotten to warn him how bad it was. He had opted not to tell his lover where they found Kuroko or the condition he had been in and he was now regretting that.

Aomine did his best to comfort Kise, but there wasn't much he could do when he couldn't even convince himself it would be okay. After a few minutes, Kise moved closer to the bluenette and held his hand.

"Kurokocchi…." His voice came out strangled. Aomine brought him a chair which he gladly accepted without releasing Kuroko's hand. Aomine then grabbed his own chair and placed his hand on top of Kise's. Except for the occasional sniffles, they sat in complete silence.

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 _By the way...Has anyone figured out what line of business Akashi is in and why Okazaki is important? Just curious. I think I made the latter pretty obvious, maybe even too obvious. I don't know if the former is obvious though._


	6. Chapter 6: Panic

_Ah...I'm so cruel. This is a very very short chapter. Happy New Years anyways. Don't kill me! The next chapter will be up soon._

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Six days passed. Kise had to leave for a photo shoot, but Aomine had gotten approved for some time off by his boss so he had stayed. Actually, it was more like his boss forced him to take time off and ordered him to stay with his friend. He had been oddly understanding of the situation, but Aomine was thankful. He did wish he could work to distract his mind, but he also wanted to be there for his friend.

"Are you sure you can afford to spend so much time here?" Aomine glanced at Akashi. They were sitting in Kuroko's room like every other afternoon so far.

"What is that supposed to mean, Daiki." Akashi wasn't sure where the navy haired brat was going with this question.

"I don't want to get called into work by my boss and find my desk heaped with work because you didn't keep your idiots in line."

"You won't. Don't be so ungrateful. If I wasn't around you would have a lot more work to do ALL the time."

"Then resources would be even further strained and the break room coffee would be water with brown food coloring in it!"

Akashi and Aomine both grinned ever so slightly at the last part. Akashi was pretty sure that was what the coffee in the police station was already.

This type of argument was typical between the two of them. They both looked at each other for a few minutes before they both broke out into laughter. Their work wasn't always on the same side of the law but they were still good friends and they helped each other out from time to time. They clearly understood that good and bad weren't absolutes, which is why they could sit in a small room together without trying to kill one another.

A slight, barely audible noise stopped their laughter. At first they thought they were imagining it. They looked to Kuroko to see blue eyes slowly forcing themselves open.

Before Aomine or Akashi could say anything, the heart monitor began beeping frantically and the small figure in the bed began thrashing about, eyes wide and terrified.

"GET THE DOCTOR!" Akashi yelled as he moved to hold Kuroko down. Aomine reached for the help button and pressed it several times until two nurses barged in the door followed by a doctor.

One of the nurses took over Akashi's position and the other hurried the two men out of the room.

"I'm sorry but you have to go. Wait in the waiting room." She bowed slightly to both of them before heading back in to the room. Before the door closed, the sound of the heart monitor flat lining and the doctor yelling instructions reached Akashi and Aomine.

Aomine and Akashi didn't go to the waiting room. Akashi leaned against the wall outside Kurokos room and Aomine knelt down with his back against the same wall. They were out of the room and out of the way so no one bothered them.

"What's happening?" Aomine asked to no one in particular.

"Panic probably. I've seen it before when people wake up in a hospital after something traumatic." Akashi spoke quietly.

"You've seen too much."

"Perhaps I have. Perhaps."

"His heart…."

"If the doctor is still in there then he isn't dead yet." Akashi reassured the cop as much as himself. The horror in Kuroko's eyes was unnerving to say the least but the sound of the heart monitor flat lining was horrifying. He really wished he could stop hearing that sound.

"'Yet' is what I'm afraid of." Aomine admitted and placed his head in his hands. The two remained silent until the doctor emerged, Aomine nearly pouncing on the man immediately.

"How is he!?" Aomine stared the doctor down.

"Sedated. You can go back in. He probably won't wake up again for a while…..hopefully he won't panic next time." The doctor gave a slight bow and headed off. Akashi was already holding the door open casting a glance to see if Aomine intended to follow. Aomine did.


	7. Chapter 7: Is This Hell?

_H*** Crap it's 2017! That just kind of hit me._

 _Thank you to everyone who has left comments. They are adored and always inspire me to keep writing. Thank you again._

 _Best of luck with your new year resolutions! I wonder what kind of resolutions the GOM and Kuroko would make._

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The next day

This wasn't the shed. This wasn't _that room_. This wasn't a familiar place at all. It was a bit dark, the only light from the inside and outside windows and the door, but bright enough to make out his surroundings. Various machines he couldn't name or guess the purpose of sat on either side of him, some of which seemed to be emitting noise. Where was he? How did he get here?

The last thing he remembered was lying on the ground in the shed wondering if he was finally going to freeze to death. _The man_ hadn't come in several days. No water. No moldy bread or lukewarm watery soup. No clothes or blankets. No beatings or rape (although he was glad for that). No injections. Just cold sweats, nightmares, shivering, nausea, and pain, but there was always pain.

He fought down panic and opted to look around for clues. Something was restraining his movements, so he could only move his head. Slowly, he turned his head to the right. He saw a man with red hair and a long brown trench coat over a suit sitting in a chair presumably asleep. He was probably about Kuroko's height and had an important and somewhat threatening aura about him, even when asleep. The man looked familiar though and didn't feel like a threat, despite the aura. Kuroko was sure he knew the man, but his mind presented him with broken and unclear images he couldn't decipher when he searched his memory.

Behind the man, he could see a door and a window that was covered with a curtain. Light seeped under the door and through the sides of the window where the curtain failed to block it. He listened for sounds, but the machines seemed to overwhelm his delicate senses, so he couldn't hear anything else.

Shifting his head to the other side, his eyes landed on a man with darker skin, possibly navy hair, asleep, in jeans and a hoodie. He seemed more relaxed being slightly slumped in his chair with his legs wide apart. He was muscular and probably much taller than Kuroko judging by how long the mans legs looked. This man seemed slightly familiar too, but Kuroko couldn't place him any more than the red haired man. All his memory seemed able to provide was that this man wasn't a threat. Neither of these men were.

That knowledge should have calmed him down, but it didn't. He was guessing he might be in a hospital, but he wasn't sure. He couldn't remember being in a hospital before, but that meant very little since he couldn't remember much of anything besides the past four years, which he really wished he could forget.

What worried him most was that he didn't see _the man._ He didn't see the man referred to as _'boss'_ either, or any of the ones who often accompanied 'boss'. He didn't want to see them, but not seeing them when his surroundings were so unfamiliar frightened him. At least if he knew where they were, he could be prepared.

Pushing those thoughts aside, he made another attempt to remember how he had gotten here and who the two men in his room were. His mind continued to offer only broken and fuzzy images and memories, most of which were completely undecipherable and others which didn't make sense or only provided more questions. He felt a headache beginning. He didn't want anymore pain. He was in enough pain already. He closed his eyes.

Wait.

That was strange. He wasn't in any pain, except the slight head ache forming. When was the last time he wasn't in pain? The drugs sometimes distracted him, but not this much. Had he finally become numb to it? No. That wasn't it. He wasn't numb. There just wasn't any pain. Well maybe a little here and there, but compared to usual, there was nothing. How? He couldn't remember the last time he wasn't in pain. Did such a time even exist? Maybe he was dead now. You don't get headaches when you are dead though. Well maybe you did. Kuroko couldn't be sure that you didn't seeing how he had never died before. It felt like it sometimes, he swore he did so briefly at times, and he often wished he had, but he hadn't truly died before. Maybe you could get headaches when you're dead. Even if you could though, was this heaven or hell? It couldn't be hell could it? Hell should be painful. Maybe that was why he had a head ache. Was the red head the devil then? Why would the devil wear a suit and trench coat though and why wouldn't he be scary? The man had a threatening aura, but Kuroko didn't feel scared of him. And wouldn't the devil greet a new arrival? Well it is the devil….so maybe not. Surely he wouldn't just sleep though. And that didn't explain the machines or why he couldn't move or who the other man was.

But this couldn't be heaven either. Wouldn't the others have halos? Or maybe only angels got halos. Were you automatically an angel if you went to heaven? Was it reserved only for special people? What about gates? He vaguely remembered something about gates. He didn't see any type of gate though. It seemed a bit dark for some place like heaven too and he was pretty sure he wouldn't get into heaven. He wasn't religious.

Wait.

If he wasn't religious, why was he assuming this could be heaven or hell? He didn't necessarily believe that those places didn't exist, but he didn't believe they did either. Well maybe that wasn't entirely true. He believed in hell, only hell wasn't some place you went when you died. It was a place you existed in when you were alive. That shed. That _room._ That cage. Those unbearable nights. Those were all hell, and he felt pain in those places and he was alive in those places. Hell existed for the living, another reason why this couldn't be hell if he was dead. It couldn't really be hell if he was alive either because there wasn't any pain.

So where the hell was he!? He could feel the panic growing inside him. He didn't sense any immediate threats but his lack of knowledge terrified him. Even if these people weren't bad. Even if this wasn't hell. Even if he was safe. He needed to know, because not knowing was dangerous. It was frightening. 'Not knowing' meant you couldn't prepare for what was coming. 'Not knowing' meant hours of agony of a racing mind. 'Not knowing' was dangerous. 'Not knowing' was terrifying. 'Not knowing' could eat him alive. Maybe if he opened his eyes he would know. Maybe he would find a clue, something he hadn't noticed before. Maybe…..but 'maybe' was dangerous too. 'Maybe' allowed for hope. That was also dangerous. It was easier to give up. It was best to not have hope. Hope would only make the pain worse later. It might lessen the hurt in the moment, but that hurt wouldn't disappear. That hurt would find you sooner or later when your hope came crashing down. It also kept you from seeing clearly. It kept you from seeing all the dangers. Maybe led to hope, and hope was blinding, and being blind was 'not knowing,' and 'not knowing' was dangerous. In this moment of not knowing, he couldn't afford maybes. He couldn't afford hope. He had to open his eyes though. He had to check again. He had to make sure that danger wasn't looming over him this very second to strike him when he was unprepared.

So he opened his eyes again.

Danger wasn't looming over him. The red head who had been sitting on his right side was looming over him. The red heads expression was concerned as he spoke Kuroko's name. Kuroko only stared at him. His throat hurt and he wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond. He saw, and then he felt the red heads hand touch his arm. He flinched and terror filled his eyes as every muscle of his body tensed up. He still wasn't afraid of this man, but experience had burned the lesson in his body to expect pain from touch. To fear it. To avoid it. Even if this person wasn't a threat, touch was.

He was grateful that the red head removed the hand from his skin. He felt his body relax slightly. But now the red head was looking at him with even more worry etched on his face. There was something else too. Anger? Was the red head angry at him? It didn't feel like it was directed at him though. It felt like it was directed at something past him, something he couldn't see. He could only hope he was right. Not feeling pain was a luxury he wasn't ready to lose just yet.

Kuroko noticed the red heads mouth was moving. What was he saying? Panic? Was it a warning? No. He was saying don't panic. A threat maybe? It didn't sound like one. Kuroko didn't have time to figure it out. He felt his consciousness slip and once again he entered the nothingness of sleep.

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 _This is the second time Kuroko wakes up in case that wasn't clear._

 _This chapter just kind of spilled itself out of my hands. I started and then it just wrote itself. Funny how that happens. If you couldn't tell, it's Kuroko's thoughts._


	8. Chapter 8: Touch

_Comments are loved and appreciated as always!_

 _Sorry this is moving kind of slow. I don't want to rush it though._

 _This was kind of a hard chapter to write so I hope it turned out okay._

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"Ryota?"

"What's up Daikicchi? It's a bit late to be calling. Is everything okay?"

"Sort of. Tetsu woke up again. He passed out shortly after though."

"Were you able to speak to him? Did he say anything?"

"No. He woke up while we were sleeping and passed out shortly after we woke up and noticed."

"Oh….."

"Yeah. So how was your shoot?"

"I would rather have been with you."

"I would have preferred that too."

"I should be back in the morning. Daikicchi?"

"Yeah?"

"He's going to wake up again. He will be okay."

"Yeah. You're right."

"I know."

"Night Ryota. Love you."

"Love you too Daikicchi. Night."

Aomine placed his phone back in his pocket and turned around. In the middle of the call, Akashi had come outside and was standing behind him against the wall with his hands shoved in his coat pockets.

"Is something up?" Aomine asked.

"You two are cute."

"Spare me."

"Not a chance." Akashi smiled in that way that always made Aomine's mouth go dry and his palms sweat.

"Any change?" Aomine was referring to Kuroko's condition. He knew the answer, but he asked anyway. Akashi's face became unreadable. His business mask was on.

"No. You already knew that."

"Yeah, I did. But I wanted to encourage that little speck of hope in my brain."

"It's probably better if you didn't."

"Right. Yakuza don't like hope."

"I didn't think cops cared for it either." Akashi retorted with a slight grin.

"We prefer donuts, however a bit of hope is nice too."

"You don't even like donuts Daiki." Akashi moved to stand by Aomine and glanced up at the night sky. It was almost cloudless so you could see the stars pretty well and the half moon. Aomine looked up too. For a moment they allowed themselves to be swallowed by the night sky and wish upon a shooting star.

"Funny how we place wishes on dying stars." Akashi mused.

"Funny that stars can die."

"Our conversations make no sense."

"Shut up Akashi. I'm going back to the hotel. You coming?"

"Nah. I'll stay here a while longer…in case he wakes up again."

"Suit yourself. Night."

Aomine left and Akashi went back inside the hospital to Kuroko's room. He had a feeling he should stay there tonight.

Akashi took his usual chair and settled in. Kuroko looked so peaceful, but Akashi knew that was only temporary. It wouldn't last. Still, it was nice. He closed his eyes and let himself doze off.

When he woke again, the early morning light was seeping through the window. He looked at Kuroko and red eyes met blue.

"T….Tetsuya?" He moved closer and went to grab the Kurokos hand, but the fear in the boys eyes made him think twice. He pulled his hand back to his side.

"Tetsuya? Do you know who I am?"

There was no reply, just a vacant stare. Akashi wasn't sure Kuroko heard, but he continued anyway.

"It's me, Akashi. Akashi Seijuro. We went to high school together." He paused to see if there was any reaction but if there was, he couldn't tell. "You're in a hospital. You're safe now."

"A…..Ah…Ak…." Kuroko couldn't seem to repeat the name. He did recognize the name though he couldn't recall any specific memories.

"It's okay." Akashi's voice was oddly gentle. He longed to hug the bluenette but he kept his distance. "The doctor will want to see you. I'll go get him okay?" Akashi left and returned quickly with the doctor.

"Hello Kuroko. I'm Dr. Takama. I'm glad to see you awake. I'm going to ask you a few questions okay?" The doctor stood beside Kuroko's bed and waited for an answer. When no answer or movement came from the boy, he spoke again. "Do you know where you are?"

No answer.

"What about your full name?"

Still no response.

"Do you know how old you are?"

Nothing.

"I'm going to check a few things okay?" The doctor said, concerned that the boy wasn't responding.

As soon as the mans hand was within a few inches of Kuroko's skin, Kuroko screamed and began shaking violently. The doctor jumped back.

"I'm sorry. I'm not going to hurt you." Dr. Takama tried to assure the bluenette. Kuroko didn't respond. Instead he pulled his hand to his mouth and bit down till his teeth broke skin and blood trinkled from the wound.

"Tetsuya! It's oaky." Akashi moved to stand next to Kuroko but not too close. "It's okay. It's okay Tetsuya. You're safe."

Kuroko stared at Akashi, his deep blue eyes searching for any signs of danger from the red head. For some reason, the red heads presence felt calming and he couldn't find any signs of danger. He began to relax.

"Could you give us a few moments alone?" Akashi turned his head to glare at the doctor. It was more of an order than a request. Dr. Takama seemed to understand and left the room. Akashi turned back to face the frightened Kuroko.

"Tetsuya, is it okay if I touch your arm?" He asked gently. After several extremely long moments of hesitation, he received the slightest of nods.

"Okay. I'm going to put my hand on your wrist." He explained as he acted so as not to frighten Kuroko. Experience told him it was best to make all his movements known. His hand on the bluenettes arm, he continued to speak. "I'm going to move your hand away from your mouth now." He proceeded to act on his words. He found he met with little resistance and Kuroko's shaking was lessening. He sighed inwardly. He was lucky that Kuroko seemed to trust him at least a little, but his reactions so far made it clear that he was badly damaged. Any hope the red head had of things being simple was shattered.

"It's okay. You're safe now." He continued to whisper gently. After several minutes, Kuroko had calmed down.

"I'm going to bring the doctor back in." Akashi paused when the look of terror spread itself over Kuroko's features again. "He needs to make sure you are okay. I won't let him hurt you. You can hold my hand and if the doctor does something you aren't comfortable with or that scares you squeeze my hand and I'll stop him. Is that okay?"

Kuroko gave a slight nod although he remained tense. Akashi left the room to speak with the doctor.

"I got him to agree to see you, but he may not let you touch him." Akashi explained to Dr. Takama.

"I need to check him and make sure he is okay though." Dr. Takama protested.

"Is it possible for me to carry out the actions instead? I told him he could hold my hand and squeeze it if he got scared and that would stop whatever he didn't like. He agreed. If he won't let you near, he might let me." Akashi offered and waited for the doctors response. The doctor nodded.

"I suppose it will have to work." He sighed and followed Akashi back into the room.


	9. Chapter 9: Green

_I'm kind of enjoying writing the conversations between the characters so sorry if there are a lot._

 _Comments are appreciated as always, good or bad!_

 _Thank you for reading and for all the comments so far. I've really enjoyed them!_

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When Akashi and the doctor returned to the room, Akashi made his way to stand by Kuroko with very careful and deliberate steps. Instead of grabbing Kuroko's hand, he held his own a few inches of away from Kuroko's and let the bluenette take his time in grabbing the hand.

"If something scares you or makes you uncomfortable, just squeeze my hand." Akashi reminded. Kuroko didn't respond, but the red head was sure he heard.

In truth, holding hands scared Kuroko, as did any physical contact. Still, the man who called himself Akashi had been kind so far. Akashi's hands were gentle and his movements were never sudden. He trusted Akashi, at least a little. He certainly trusted the red head more than the other man in the white coat. Perhaps he was just desperate to trust someone. It didn't really matter.

Kuroko squeezed Akashi's hand tightly whenever the doctor tried to get closer and he flinched when the man made sudden movements. Akashi never made any sudden movements. He always told Kuroko what he was going to do before doing it and he always asked. No one ever told Kuroko what they were going to do. They just did it. They didn't ask, because Kuroko was just a punching bag and a fuck toy. He was an item. But Akashi was treating him like a person.

It seemed like a long time passed before the doctor and Akashi left. It had been an hour. Kuroko hadn't uttered a single word. He wasn't sure he remembered how to speak, but his silence was more due to fear that the red head might stop being kind if Kuroko spoke. Kuroko wasn't supposed to speak. Punching bags and fuck toys don't speak. Objects don't speak. Even if one person treated Kuroko like a human being, many more had treated him as an object and majority won.

Akashi and the doctor stepped back into the hallway once the check up was finished.

"How is he?" Akashi inquired.

"Physically, he's healing. He's malnourished and it's still too soon to know if he will walk again, but he is healing. He should be able to be released in a few days provided that there are no further complications. Psychologically is another story. I understand you plan to take care of him. It won't be easy. His physical injuries are one thing, but the psychological damage is another. I'm not a psychologist so I can only help but so much, but I suggest you find him a good therapist."

"Thank you." Akashi bowed.

"Before I go.." Dr. Takama added.

"Yes?"

"If you still plan to take care of him, I'll have someone show you what you need to know to take care of his medical needs at home. Of course, if Kuroko will let others get near him, you can hire a nurse. You should probably talk to psychologist about his mental needs."

"I would appreciate that. Thank you." Akashi bowed slightly again and moved to open the door, but the doctor stopped him again.

"I know this is a lot to ask, but if you could stick around for the time being, it would be helpful, since he trusts you."

Akashi nodded and the doctor finally walked away.

*knock knock*

Akashi turned to seen a green head of hair poke through the door. It didn't take long for him to recognize his old teammate, Midorima.

"Is this a bad time?" Midorima asked seeing that Kuroko was asleep.

Akashi shook his head and stepped outside to talk. He briefly glanced at pink cupcake keychain dangling from Midorima's belt and assumed it was the lucky item of the day.

"I'm a bit surprised you don't have guards framing the door." Midorima teased as he gave the smaller man an awkward hug.

"You just don't see them. It would bring too much attention if they were visible enough for you to see them." Akashi teased back, although his voice and expression lacked any sense of humor. "Why are you here?"

"Kise called me several days ago. The hospital is slightly short staffed at the moment so I couldn't get away immediately. As it is, I can only stay two days."

"I see."

"Kise informed Murisakibara and a few others. Murisakibara is flying back from France on Friday in case Kise didn't tell you."

"He didn't." Akashi kept his answers short. He hadn't really thought to call the others. They didn't talk very often anymore. After high school, Midorima had gone off to become a doctor and rarely had any free time. Murisakibara had gone to France for culinary school which made it hard to stay in touch. Both of them had quit looking for Kuroko too which had created a bit of a rift as well. The only reason Akashi still had contact with Kise frequently was because of Aomine. He should have thought to call, but he hadn't.

"How is he?" Midorima finally asked as he pushed his glasses up.

"Physically, he's healing. That's what the doctor says." Akashi repeated what Dr. Takama has said.

"Then something else is wrong?" Midorima didn't miss how Akashi had specifically pointed out Kuroko's physical condition only.

"Tetsuya was being housed as a product by a certain gang. From what my sources have gathered, he was probably there since he disappeared. He's terrified of being touched and he hasn't spoken, at least nothing cohearant." Akashi leaned his back against the wall with a sigh. One knee bent to place his foot on the wall behind him and his hands were shoved into his pocket as he stared at nothing in particular. "The doctor couldn't even get near him without him freaking out. He's let me touch him, but barely, and it's obvious it still frightens him."

"So mentally…" Midorima let his voice trail off. He didn't know what he expected to find. Of course Kuroko wouldn't be the same way he was four years ago. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't help you guys keep looking for him." He offered his apology. Akashi brushed it off.

"You had things to do. It's in the past now anyway. I'm not mad at you. You're not the one….who did those things to him." Akashi tensed.

"May I see him?"

"He's sleeping."

"Then I can come back later."

Akashi shook his head. "I don't know how he will react if he is awake. It might be best to see him while he's sleeping. At least for now." Akashi pushed himself off the wall and opened the door to Kuroko's room, holding it to let Midorima in. Midorima walked in hesitantly.

Kuroko was covered in blankets, so Midorima couldn't tell much. He grabbed the chart instead and read through it, his eyes narrowing and his free hand turning into a fist with the more he read. When he was done, he placed it back in its spot and looked over Kuroko again. The charts told him what 'things' Akashi had been speaking of.

"I assume you have taken it upon yourself to handle his medical expenses?" Midorima broke the awkward silence that had formed and again pushed his glasses up. He continued after Akashi nodded. "If there is anything either of you need that I can help with….you will let me know won't you?"

Akashi nodded again and the silence resumed for several long moments.

"I don't know if he remembers me and if that's why he lets me near, but he might remember you too and he might let you near."

Midorima studied Akashi unsure of what the redhead was getting at.

"He's terrified of the doctors here and doesn't let them near. If he lets you near…." Akashi wasn't really sure how he was supposed to ask for Midorima's help. It wasn't in his nature to ask. It was in his nature to order. He felt awkward.

"We can transfer him if that is what you are asking."

"Yeah. I mean, he may not….but if he does…."

"It's fine. I get it. And it's the least I can do. I'm going to go now. Call me later okay?" A business card was handed to Akashi. On the back was Midorima's personal cell since it wasn't the same as it used to be. He watched the taller man leave and realized just how much had changed in the course of four years. Midorima had changed a lot and Akashi assumed he probably had too.


	10. Chapter 10: Nightmares

_WARNING!Depictions of rape and abuse. It's only in the italicized part so if you want to skip it just skip the italicized part. It's not super detailed or anything._

 _My first time writing any sort of sexual interaction...and I end up having to write rape...I feel like a bad person...lol...it's not really funny... -_-_

 _I'm sorry._

 _Sorry about the mess up with the chapter earlier! Thanks for letting me know!_

 _Comments are appreciated as always! I've really enjoyed all the ones I've gotten so far._

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 _"You filthy piece of shit!" A man in a black suit kicked him in the side. He let out a scream as one of his ribs cracked. He shut his eyes tightly. There was another blow, and then another, and then he could feel himself being lifted off the ground. Hands clenched around his throat making it impossible to breath. He opened his eyes. The man hissed at him and threw him against the wall. More pain. He didn't even have a chance to register where the pain was before another kick slammed the cracked rib into the wall. He screamed again._

 _"Oi! You little bitch." The man reached to grab him again. Without even thinking, he lowered his head causing the mans hand to hit him in his mouth which he opened just in time to bite down. That was a bad idea. If the guy hadn't been pissed before, he was now._

 _"You little fucker! Don't think I'm going to let you get away with that!" A cruel smirk appeared on the mans face. "Looks like you want to be punished." The man threw him face down onto the stained mattress. Mattress springs that stuck out were digging into his skin as the man sat on top of him. The man pulled a blade across his back slow and methodical creating several lines. Then the man dipped his fingers in the oozing blood the way the man always did and shoved the fingers into his hole. The suddenness forced out a cry of pain. He hated the feeling of those bloody fingers inside him. He hated that he could feel himself getting aroused even more. The man was rough and more screams escaped his body without his consent. Just like no one cared if he consented to these acts, his body didn't care if his mind consented to his bodys were streaming down his face only making the mans anger worse. The man drew the blade across his skin creating a slightly deeper cut. The man released his own cock from his pants and covered it with blood. In a swift and harsh movement, the man flipped him onto his back and shoved the blood covered cock in his mouth. He couldn't scream. He couldn't breathe. Dark spots encroached on his vision. He heard his name called suddenly in a panicked voice. It didn't make any sense. The man never used his name. He didn't have a name. Only humans have names. Only living things have names. Yet he heard his name called out again. It was so distant but it was there._

"Tetsuya! Wake up Tetsuya. It's not real! Wake up!" Akashi was somewhere between pinning the bluenette down and shaking him frantically. Kuroko was thrashing against him weakly, but determined enough to make the task of restraining him difficult. The doctor and nurse were standing a safe distance away. If Kuroko woke up to one of them touching him, it might only make the episode worse. Kurokos face was twisted into some unrecognizable emotion and his skin was bleeding from where he scratched it as he screamed out and tears flowed from his eyes. Akashi didn't even want to know what Tetsuya was seeing right now. All Akashi could think to do was hold him down and call his name.

"Tetsuya! It's me, Akashi! You need to wake up Tetsuya!"

The thrashing suddenly ceased. Frightened blue eyes flew open only to widen further at the realization of someone touching him.

"It's just me Tetsuya. I'm not going to hurt you. It's okay now. Your safe." Akashi continued to ramble with every comforting phrase he could think of before deeming it safe to let go of the body beneath him, but before he could back away, a fist twisted itself in his face. Akashi stared in shock. The smaller man was holding tightly to his shirt. Akashi wasn't sure why he thought it was a good idea, but he pulled the bluenette to his chest and continued to ramble on comforting phrases, ignoring the doctor and nurse who made their exit. At first, Kuroko tensed up at the sudden hug and Akashi was about to pull away, but the former relaxed after a brief moment and held Akashi's shirt even tighter. Heavy sobs racked the small body and small sounds escaped occasionally that may or may not have had some sort of meaning.

"Shhhh. I'm here. I won't let anyone hurt you again. Shh." He rubbed in circles on the Kuroko's back slowly and deliberately so as not to startle him. Akashi lightly kissed the top of the blue head tucked beneath his chin and continued repeating every soothing word and phrase he knew.

It took about twenty minutes for Kuroko's grip to loosen from exhaustion. Akashi maneuvered himself so they could lay down on the bed making things easier on Kuroko. It was about another thirty minutes before the bluenette stopped crying and his breath evened out indicating to the red head that he was asleep. Akashi wasn't sure if he should stay there or move away, but he didn't want to disturb the others sleep so he decided it was best to stay put. He would just have to hope the contact didn't frighten Kuroko when he woke up.

His mind wandered and he found himself wondering just what it was that Kuroko saw. What kind of horrors had played out in his mind and would he ever be able to forget them? The bluenettes face still wore a somewhat pained expression and Akashi could only hope he wasn't seeing any more awful things.


	11. Chapter 11: Wary

_Ahhhhh Sorry it took so long to update! Writers block is evil incarnate I swear! Plus I rewrote this chapter three times, at least I think it was only three...I only remember three...that's not important though. Anyway! Sorry again for the lateness._

 _I hope you enjoy this. I don't know. Anyway, comments are appreciated as always._

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After several hours, Akashi decided it was safe to leave and pried himself from Kuroko's grip. He left the room and dialed his secretary's number.

"Akashi-sama. What can I do for you?" The secretary answered.

"Any reports?" He asked as he made his way to a balcony outside. He found an unoccupied corner where he could have a bit of privacy.

"Let me get Masaomi for you."

"Boss?" Masaomi came to the phone.

"Reports." Akashi demanded.

"We still haven't located Okazaki. We believe he has gone into hiding. We took down his club in Shinjuku two days ago and took out the manager and everyone directly working for the Kintatsu-kai. We found no traces of the man in question there. The group has two warehouses near the bay and another club in Shibuya. We are working our way towards taking over both." Masaomi reported.

"Good. When you find Okazaki, don't kill him. I'll do that myself. I expect the second club to be gone by the end of the week." Akashi didn't wait for a reply before ending the call and putting his phone away. At least progress was being made. Still, he wasn't going to be satisfied till he had that bastard Okazaki begging for his life as he squeezed it out of him.

When the red head returned to the hospital room, Aomine and Kise were waiting outside.

"Hey." Aomine waved. "You look pissed."

"Okazaki is still MIA." He explained. He had already told Aomine about the man.

"If you find him, I wouldn't mind getting a punch in before you take the bastard out." Aomine growled.

"If I kill him, it would be best if you don't know anything about it."

"If he winds up dead, I will already know. Not that it matters. Anyway, the doctor told us not to go in till you got back. What's up with Tetsu?"

Akashi sighed. "He is afraid of being touched, although he let me get close to him, he freaked out every time a doctor or nurse got close. They probably didn't want you upsetting him on accident. He had a nightmare, or a flashback or something a few hours ago too."

"Is he okay now?" Kise asked.

"He was sleeping when I left. Come on in. If he is awake, just tell him what you are going to do before you do it. He doesn't react as severely if you do."

Aomine and Kise nodded and followed Akashi inside. Kuroko was awake when they entered and immediately reached towards Akashi while making some sort of sound.

"I'm coming closer to you." Akashi announced before moving towards the bluenette. Once he was close enough, Kuroko grabbed his shirt. Akashi let him and turned his head.

"I brought two of your old friends to visit. It's Daiki and Ryota. They are going to come closer too." He gestured for the blond and navy haired man to move forward.

"We're coming over Kurokocchi." Kise announced like Akashi had directed him to do. Both men moved to stand by the bed. Kuroko's grip on Akashi's shirt strengthened and his body tensed as he eyed the two new comers carefully. He recognized the one with navy hair from the other day. He thought he recognized the blond too. Like Akashi and Aomine, the blond seemed familiar and he didn't scare Kuroko, although the bluenette was still wary.

Kise fought the urge to scoop his old friend into a hug. Instead he waved awkwardly. "Hey Kurokocchi. Remember me? We played basketball in high school together remember. Same with them." He pointed at Aomine and Akashi. Kuroko flinched when Kise moved his hand suddenly and Akashi gave the blond a warning glare. It took Kise a moment to understand what the glare meant.

"It's okay Tetsuya. He isn't going to harm you." Akashi tried to soothe Kuroko but the smaller male didn't relax.

"Is it okay if I hold your hand for a moment?" Aomine asked carefully and waited. Kuroko studied the navy haired man before eventually nodding. "Okay. I'm going to hold your hand now." Aomine wasn't sure if he needed to say it again, but he decided it was better safe than sorry. He slowly took Kurokos hand and held it. It was small and icy. The bluenette flinched but he didn't pull away. He did however keep his eyes on the tanner man.

"I'm going to take my hand away now. Is it okay if Kise holds your hand next?" Aomine asked for Kise as he removed his hand. It took a bit longer this time for Kuroko to respond. He was more wary of the blond who often made sudden small movements. Kuroko gripped Akashi's shirt tighter before nodding.

"I'm going to hold your hand now." Kise copied Aomine's words and actions. He noticed how cold Kuroko's hand felt too but didn't comment. After a moment, he almost took his hand away before remembering to speak first.

"I'm going to take my hand away now." Kise acted as he spoke.

"We should probably go now. It was good to see you." Aomine said slowly giving Kuroko time to process that someone was speaking. Kise nearly waved again, but caught himself. Kuroko noticed though and flinched slightly making Kise feel guilty.

"We are going to walk away now." Aomine continued with a soft smile towards the smaller boy before he and Kise turned and left, all with slow and deliberate movements.

Once they were gone, Akashi alerted Kuroko he was going to touch his hand and did so placing his hand on top of Kuroko's that was gripping his shirt. He sighed inwardly. Saying everything he did was exhausting.

He spoke again to let Kuroko know he was removing the hand from his shirt and stepping outside for a moment.

Akashi met Kise and Aomine outside the room and led them to the small waiting room down the hall where they grabbed some coffee and sat to talk.

"Midorimacchi told me he came by yesterday." Kise spoke first. Akashi nodded.

"Tetsuya was asleep. Since he managed with you two, I was thinking of calling him and having him stop by later if Tetsuya is still awake."

"Do you think he remembers us?" Aomine looked out the window instead of at the others.

"Of course Kurokocchi remembers us! Right Akashicchi?"

"It's hard to tell. If he lets Shintarō and Murasakibara near him then I would say he probably does, at least a part of him does. He hasn't let anyone but us touch him or even come close to him without screaming or panicking so it would make sense."

"Yeah, I can't think of any other reason why he would let this freak near him." Aomine jerked his head towards Kise earing him one of Kise's infamous pouts.

"Akashicchi! Daikicchi is being mean!"

"Handle it yourself Ryota. I'm not a relationship counselor!"

"Waaahhhh. Now Akashicchi and Daikicchi are being mean."

"Shut up! We're in a hospital. You're being too loud." Aomine wacked his lover over the head with his hand. Kise immediately quieted down with a quick apology. Luckily no one else was in the waiting room so they hadn't actually bothered anyone.

"So are you going to have Kuroko transferred to Midorima's hospital then?" Aomine asked after a few minutes. Akashi nodded.

"The paperwork for the transfer is done so if things work out, he can be transferred right away. Speaking of Shintarō, I should call and have him come over."

"Does he know about Okazaki?" Kise whispered. "I didn't tell him….I just don't want to blurt out anything I'm not supposed to."

"You'll blurt out something unnecessary anyway." Aomine teased but looked at Akashi for the answer. Akashi shook his head.

"No. I'll tell him later. I put a guard on him too though so he might have already figured something was up."

"Midorimacchi knows about you and uh…ya know….right?"

"We all know Ryota. It's not a secret you dummy."

Akashi ignored the exchange between Kise and Aomine and walked outside dialing Midorima's number.

"Akashi? Is that you?" Midorima answered on the second ring. Akashi smiled at the fact Midorima seemed to remember what ring to pick up on after all this time.

"It's me. Can you come over? Tetsuya is awake. Ryota and Daiki are here as well. There are a few things we need to discuss too."

"I'll be right over….um, before you hang up…"

"Yes, Shintarō?"

"The guy outside my door….the guard…..is he really necessary?"

"I'll explain when you get here, but yes. He is necessary. You saw Tetsuya's chart. This is very serious."

"Yeah, yeah. I got it. I'll be right over."


	12. Chapter 12: Revenge

Short chapter...but it seemed a good place to end the chapter so yeah...

Let me know what you think of the story so far...only if you want to though! It can be good or bad...just be honest...or else...I will throw scissors...not really. But Akashi might. hehehe

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Midorima arrived with a displeased look on his face.

"Is he still awake?"

"Midorimacchi!" Kise hopped up from his seat and lunged towards the green haired man for a hug. Midorima easily side stepped and avoided it.

"You're in a hospital. Behave." Midorima said cooly, pushing his glasses up.

"He should still be awake. There are some rules though." Akashi warned.

"I've dealt with abused patients before. I already knew that. So how have you been handling introducing people to him?"

"We will go in together. Say everything you are going to do before you do it and ask first! If you move unexpectedly, it scares him. Kise already made him wary enough." Akashi groaned before continuing with a sudden afterthought. "Oh, and everyone has just been asking to hold his hand."

Midorima studied Akashi for a moment before nodding. He followed the red head down the hall to Kuroko's room.

"Tetsuya." Akashi called out as he entered the room. Kuroko looked startled, but it was momentary.

"I brought someone else to see you. Is it okay if we come in?"

Kuroko nodded. Akashi and Midorima entered and went through the same motions as had been done with Aomine and Kise. When they finished, they took their leave and rejoined Kise and Aomine in the waiting room.

"Is he okay with Midorimacchi?" Kise asked as soon as they were all seated.

Akashi nodded.

"So Tetsu will be transferred?" Aomine asked. Akashi nodded again.

"He will be transferred to my hospital in the morning, although he should be able to be released within a few days to a week." Midorima paused and turned to Akashi, meeting the man's eyes. "So are you going to tell me what's going on and why I need some bodyguard following me around?"

Akashi sighed and prepared himself. "Tetsuya was taken by a gang by the name of Kintatsu-kai. It seems he was treated as a 'product' but for the gangs personal use instead of business. I think…..I think Tetsuya might have been taken because of me."

"Wait….wha? You never mentioned that Akashicchi!"

"Okazaki Riichi is the current head of the Kintatsu-kai. He took over four years ago, around the time Tetsuya disappeared. His father was the head of the Okazaki group."

"Why two different groups?" Midorima interrupted.

"The Okazaki group is gone. My father took their territory and had many of them killed. He killed Okazaki's lover too, which supposedly was the final blow that led to Okazaki's suicide."

"What does that have to do with you Akashicchi? It was your fathers right?"

"It doesn't matter. When I inherited the family, their sins became mine. When Okazaki killed himself, his grudges became Okazaki's. You all know Tetsuya and I were in a relationship before he disappeared."

They all nodded.

"I think taking Tetsuya…..was Riichi's way of getting revenge. Using him as a toy was just a bonus…"

Everyone sat still waiting for Akashi to continue. When he didn't, Aomine spoke up.

"If he wanted revenge, wouldn't he have rubbed it in your face or killed Tetsuya. You didn't know it was him, so how is that revenge? Wouldn't he want to make you suffer like his father suffered?"

"Akashi did suffer, Ahomine." Midorima growled. "He spent the last four years driving himself crazy searching for Kuroko only to find him damaged. Kuroko is never going to be the same. He will probably never live a normal life. And Akashi has to deal with the fact it might be because of him. And Unlike Okazaki, Akashi can't just go kill himself! He can't leave Kuroko alone! So tell me Ahomine. Do you still think Okazaki didn't get revenge?!" Midorima took a deep shuddering breath and tried to calm himself. It was unusual for him to raise his voice or show so much anger, but this was pissing him off to no end. This wasn't at all how their lives should have ended up. "Just someone please tell me the bastards dead." He added in a quiet voice. One glance at his companions faces told him what he needed to know. "So he's not dead, but you _are_ planning to kill him aren't you."

"Of course. But he went into hiding before my men could capture him. I've put everything I have in to bringing the Kintatsu-kai down though. I'll crush him, and when I'm done, the things my father did to his will look like childs play." Akashi clenched his fist and a dangerous look entered Akashi's eyes. It didn't scare the others though. If anything, they were relieved. Okazaki would pay.


	13. Chapter 13: Haizaki's Gun

_Super short chapter and super late update! SORRY! Please don't kill me! Anyway, comment if you want. I appreciate every one. Thanks for your patience!_

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Murasakibara arrived the day after Kuroko was transferred. It took a bit longer for Kuroko to let the giant touch him, but he did. After that was taken care of, Akashi took Murasakibara to the waiting room and explained the situation.

"I'll crush them! I'll crush them! I'll crush them!" Murasakibara chanted as Aomine and Kise held him down. Akashi had to smack him to bring him back to his senses.

"Calm down Atsushi. This is neither the time nor the place!"

"But they hurt Kuro-chin!"

"And they will pay for what they did, but right now you need to calm down. You are no use to Tetsuya acting like this right now."

That seemed to work as Murasakibara's aura softened and he slumped back into a chair.

It was silent for a moment then down the hall the sound of a blood curdling scream, gunshots, and shouting emerged. Akashi sprung from his seat instantly grabbing his own gun as Aomine did the same. Kise sat completely frozen and watched with Murasakibara as the two ran towards Kuroko's room.

"Haizaki Shogo!" Akashi spat as he reached the doorway. Two of his men had already disarmed Haizaki and were holding him down.

"Akashi, how lovely to see you again." Haizaki snarled.

Akashi put his gun away and kicked Haizaki in the face effectively breaking his nose. He didn't look at Kuroko. He didn't want to know. Instead, he kept his attention on the culprit.

"Daiki! Handle the police. Iseki! Take this piece of shit to the warehouse. I'll deal with him later! And I expect a full report on how he got past you two later! Kunisada! Take your team and deal with the hospital. We will be taking care of this piece of shit under our own roof." Akashi shouted out orders as Midorima and another doctor rushed in the room. Midorima, unfazed by Akashi and his men, imedeately got to work treating Kuroko's wounds. Iseki, one of Akashi's men who had tackled Haizaki, dragged the man out of the room with Kunisada following behind. Akashi would let his men sweep all of this under the rug. Aomine could handle the police who were sure to want to get involved with a shooting at a hospital.

Akashi turned and left the room without looking at Kuroko still. His eyes met with Murasakibara's furious gaze as the purple haired giant was holding a shocked and crying Kise in his arms. Akashi only nodded before walking away.

Midorima didn't have time to question the situation or feel the shock of it all. Kuroko had been shot and needed medical attention.

"Prepare an OR now! We need blood." He shouted orders out as they rushed the bluenette out of the room as soon as they could. "GSW to the right shoulder. Another one to the left side of the abdomen. Bullets went through."

Aomine had arrived at the room just behind Akashi. As soon as he saw the situation was being handled, he left to deal with the hospital staff and civilians who were nearby. Instinct took over as his mind was too stunned.


	14. Chapter 14: Yakuza

_I decided to go ahead and write the next chapter. :) Here you go. I hope this clears up some things from last chapter. If it doesn't feel free to ask any questions you have. Enjoy!_

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"Akashi!" Aomine called as he noticed Akashi leaving. When Akashi didn't respond, Aomine chased after him and grabbed him. "Where the hell do you think you are going!?"

"To take care of that piece of shit!" Akashi snarled.

"He needs to be taken…"

"Not going to happen Daiki."

"Akashi! You can't just take the guy. He committed a crime in a public place, in front of a police officer no less!"

"Do you think I give a shit!"

"Obviously not!"

"It doesn't matter where he did it." Akashi broke free of Aomines grip and glared, his amber eye gleaming dangerously. Aomine backed up a couple steps but didn't back down.

"He needs to be…"

"You can have him when I'm done with him!"

"You'll murder him!"

"It's what he deserves. Actually, death is too kind a fate for that bastard and you know it. Besides, do you really think your boss will go against me!"

"That's not the point. Akashi. Let the law handle it this time."

"If the law could handle anything, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"We are in this mess because of you Akashi! Because of you and the damn Yakuza!"

Akashi's arm pulled back and slammed forward into Aomine's gut. "You think I don't know who's fault it is!"

"Daikicchi! Akashicchi!" Kise came running down the hall and wedged himself between the two men. Murasakibara followed and stopped Aomine from retaliating.

"It's not Akashicchi's fault! It's that Okazaki's fault!" Kise defended.

"That doesn't matter! Hand Haizaki over Akashi!"

"Aomine Daiki! That's enough!" The four turned around to see the chief of police standing in the entrance. "Same to you Akashi Seijuro. This is not the place for this!"

"But sir!" Aomine protested but quickly shut up when his boss glared at him. The chief gave a few orders to his men who had arrived with him before gesturing for Akashi and Aomine to follow him. Reluctantly they both did. An orderly led them to a conference room where they could talk.

"I want to know what happened, Akashi." The chief demanded calmly with a death glare towards the Yakuza head. Akashi was unfazed but he complied.

"Haizaki Shogo shot Kuroko Tetsuya while the latter was under my protection here."

"Someone got past the great Akashi. Didn't think I would live to see the day!" The chief laughed.

"Shut it old man!" Akashi quickly retorted.

"Where is this Haizaki now?"

"He is with my men. We will take care of him."

The chief nodded. "Understood."

"Chief!" Aomine shouted, surprised at the chiefs reaction.

"Yes Aomine?"

"You're just going to hand him over to the Yakuza no questions asked! What the hell!"

"I have no intention of getting on their bad side."

"This is bullshit." Aomine kicked the wall with a pissed off expression not directed at anyone in particular.

"If that is all, I will be taking my leave now." Akashi announced.

"Wait."

"Yes Chief?"

"I'm only giving you Haizaki on one condition. I want information."

"Hmm." Akashi hummed amused. "Smart." He grinned.

"Are you two seriously having this conversation? Tetsu was just shot!" Aomine shouted in exasperation.

"Get out Aomine." The chief commanded. Aomine looked at him and then to Akashi in surprise and with a grunt, he did as he was told, leaving the chief of police and Yakuza head alone. Akashi took a seat across from the chief.

"I know how much that boy means to you and I know how much you want Haizaki so I'll give him over and make sure the police don't give you any trouble, but in exchange I want information." The chief explained.

"Fair enough. What do you want to know?"

"You're investigating the Kintatsu-kai and their leader Okazaki Riichi, the son of the Okazaki your father took down years ago, correct."

"I see you have done your research. Yes I am. And I don't plan on handing him over either."

"You can have Okazaki too. I'm after someone much bigger than him."

"Oh?" Akashi asked further intrigued. "And who is that?"

"Wouldn't you like to know? Just so happens so would I. But my men have hit nothing but dead ends and there is a limit to what we can do. Okazaki and the Kintatsu-kai are but small fish. I want the ones at the top."

"They sure are illusive for what you call small fish."

"The smaller the fish, the more places they can hide."

"Except it seems that even the big fish is good at hiding."

"Cut the crap Akashi."

"What exactly is it that you want from the Akashi branch?"

"Like I said. Information. I want everything you got on the Kintatsu-kai, and when you catch the Okazaki bastard, I want to know everything he tells you. EVERYTHING. Help me take down the big fish."

"Hmm."

"Or you can hand Haizaki over right now."

"One of my men will be in contact with you shortly." Akashi stood up.

"I'll be waiting. You better not try to pull over on me!"

"I want your help just as much as you want mine. You keep up your end and I'll keep up mine."

"A yakuza keeping his word. If it was any other…."

"But it's me." Akashi smiled and held out his hand. "It's a pleasure doing business with you as always. Now I really must be going."

"Yeah yeah. Get out of here." The chief shook Akashi's hand.

Akashi gave a slight bow and left, only to be bombarded by a pissed off Aomine, a tearful Kise, and a seething Murasakibara the moment he stepped out of the room.

"Boss cut you a deal didn't he." Aomine growled.

"We made an agreement of sorts, yes." Akashi replied smugly. "Haizaki and Okazaki in exchange for information on someone much bigger than either of them."

"Hmph. Damn chief."

"It's called business, Daiki."

"It's dirty."

"Stop fighting!" Kise shouted causing both men to stare at him. "Kurokocchi is hurt. We shouldn't be fighting among ourselves."

"I just thought of something." Aomine sat down in a nearby chair. "Why did Haizaki come here in the first place? What was his motive?"

"He must be working for Okazaki. There is no other explanation." The red head replied.

"I want to kill him." Murasakibara finally spoke up. Akashi nodded.

"So do I. But I need to get answers first. Call me when you find out how Tetsuya is doing."

"You're leaving?" Kise asked, surprised.

"Business calls, Ryota. I'll return when I'm finished."

"At least give him a few good punches for us." Aomine finally relented. Akashi nodded again and left. The remaining three went to the waiting room for families of patients in surgery and waited.


	15. Chapter 15: Answers

_Not edited in the slightest...sorry...hopefully it's still okay. Anyway, here you go. Uh there is implied rape in this chapter but nothing graphic or anything really at all...just basically suggests that rape occurred._

 _Comments are appreciated._

 _I might re-write this later and make Akashi more threatening...he seems a bit soft right now. eh I don't even know._

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"Is Kurokocchi going to die?" Kise asked as the three waited in the waiting room.

"Aka-chin wouldn't leave if Kuro-chin was going to die."

"You don't know that for sure. Damn bastard." Aomine growled. Kise buried his face in Aomine's shirt.

"Please stop Daikicchi. Akashicchi has his reasons."

Aomine wrapped his arms around Kise and apologized and the group went silent.

In Kuroko's mind~

 _"It's time to play again cutie."_

 _Kuroko's eyes were covered. He couldn't see the speaker, but he knew who he was. The one called boss._

 _"Aww look, I think he's afraid." It was a different voice this time._

 _"You can't escape." Another voice whispered._

 _"Just enjoy."_

 _"You know you like it when we all come to play."_

 _"Doesn't this feel good?"_

 _"That's right."_

 _"What a good boy."_

 _"Oh no. Not yet."_

 _"Ha. You bitch!"_

"We're losing him!" Midorima shouted. "I need the paddles now!"

"Yes sir!" A nurse answered and appeared with two paddles. Midorima took them, rubbed them together and shouted out a number.

"Clear!" He shouted and pressed down. "Damn it!" There was no response. He yelled another number.

"Clear!"

In Kuroko's mind~

 _"You piece of shit! Can't you do anything right!" A man shouted and kicked Kuroko in the side. He grabbed his hair and shook him. Kuroko couldn't help it. The vomit rose in his throat and spilled onto the man's shirt._

 _"You….YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT!" The man threw him against the wall before climbing on top and pinning him down. Blow after blow connected with his face and chest as he struggled to breathe through his broken nose. Just when he thought death would claim him, the familiar sensation of his boxers being ripped off confronted him."_

"CLEAR!" Midorima shouted again and looked at the monitor. A small beep and the flat line was replaced with a bumpy one indicating Kuroko's heart was beating again. He sighed a breath of relief and looked down at the unconscious boys face.

"You can't die yet. Not on my table damn it." He murmured only loud enough for him and the other doctor in the room, Takao, to hear. "Akashi will have my head if you don't make it out of here."

"Shin-chan?" Takao asked curiously.

"Never mind. Hurry up. I'm almost done with this one."

It took over an hour for the surgery to finish. Midorima walked over to Kise, Aomine, and Murasakibara who were still in the waiting room. The other doctor from the surgery joined and they both took a seat.

"How's Tetsu?" Aomine asked first.

"He's okay of course!" Midorima responded, slightly offended that Aomine would even consider him failing to keep their phantom alive.

"Well it just took so long….." Kise added in an attempt to defend Aomine from Midorima's frightening glare. It didn't work.

"We lost him once." Takao spoke up. Everyone but Midorima had been too focused on Kuroko's condition to notice him.

"Is that you Takao?" Aomine asked, since he couldn't quite tell with all the surgical gear. Takao nodded.

"Hey."

"You helped with Kurokocchi too?"

"Mmhmm. He's going to be okay. He's in a coma, but he should be okay. The bullets missed any major organs." Takao replied reassuringly.

"Where is Akashi? I thought he would want to be here." Midorima looked around the room surprised at the red heads absence.

"He's dealing with Haizaki." Aomine informed, receiving an eye brow twitch from the greenette.

"Haizaki? Don't tell me…"

"You didn't see him Mido-chin?"

"I was focused on my patient."

"It was Haizaki." Aomine confirmed Midorima's question.

"Why?"

"Hell if we know. Damn chief made some deal and handed Haizaki over to Akashi's men." Aomine growled, still pissed at the whole situation. He really wanted a go at that asshole.

"Daikicchi…Takaocchi is here." Kise whispered in warning.

"Shut up Ryota. The whole god damn world knows!"

"Knows what?" Takao asked innocently.

"Whatever. Can we see Tetsu? I want to make sure you didn't do something crazy to him."

"Do I look like a mad scientist Aomine? Yes you can see him."

"Humph. Ryota, Murasakibara, let's go."

"We have to report to Aka-chin first or Aka-chin will get really mad." Murasakibara reminded them as he stood.

"Hai, hai." Aomine pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Akashi as they followed Midorima to the post-surgery wing.

[To: Akashi

From: Daiki

Message: Tetsu's okay. The bullets didn't hit any major organs. He's in a coma right now but Takao and Midorima said he should come out of it soon. Don't forget to give Haizaki a few punches for us too!]

Akashi glanced at the incoming text and smiled. Tetsuya was okay.

He turned back around to face Haizaki who was tied to a chair in the middle of a mostly empty warehouse and looking worse for wear. His amber eye gleamed dangerously.

"Looks like your plan failed, Haizaki Shogo." Akashi spat the name laced with every ounce of venom he could muster. He grabbed a chair and sat across from the captive. "I think it's time you start talking, don't you." He grinned mischievously. Haizaki spat, although he wasn't daring enough to spit in Akashi's face or even at his feet.

"It's like I keep telling you bastards. I don't know anything." Haizaki grinned, only to be punched again by one of Akashi's men.

"How about we stop with the lies Shogo. You're working for Okazaki."

"I don't work for nobody!"

Akashi nodded and one of his men punched Haizaki again.

"He offered me a deal." Haizaki spat. "You got no one to blame but yourself Akashi. You and your bastard father brought this on!"

Akashi's glare was murderous as he stood and punched Haizaki in the gut causing the latter to cough up blood. Haizaki laughed maniacly.

"The great Akashi Seijuro couldn't even save his lover from a little ol Okazaki!" The silver haired man taunted earning himself a knife in his shoulder. He didn't scream. He met Akashi's cold mismatched eyes with a grin.

"Did I hit a sensitive spot, Sei-jur-o." Haizaki hissed. Akashi twisted the knife in his shoulder.

"Where is Okazaki?" The red head demanded.

"I don't know." Haizaki admitted. The knife in his shoulder was removed only to be shoved into his thigh. This time he let out a small shriek. "I'm tellin the truth."

"Hmmm?" Akashi hummed dangerously and revealed another knife which he pierced Haizakis other shoulder with.

"He just hired me to shoot Tetsuya! I never met him face to face, just his goons."

"Oh really?" Akashi chuckled and pulled the knife from Haizakis thigh place it in the other thigh. "You better keep talking if you don't want the next one to be in your throat!"

"If you put it in my throat I can't talk anymore." Haizaki grinned with a last shred of defiance. His confidence was stripped away quickly as Akashi's face moved within inches of his own.

"Talk!"

"Okay okay. It's like I said. I never met him. I don't know where he is."

"But you do know something." Akashi glared as he pulled back and removed both knives. Haizaki nodded.

"Y…yeah. He said you would take me, but he would get me out….as soon as Tetsuya was confirmed dead…he would kill you."


	16. Chapter 16: Play Dead

_Uh short less interesting chapter but uh...yeah. Enjoy._

 _And thanks for all the comments guys! They are really inspiring and make me really happy._

 _Anyway, if you have any questions, feel free to ask! I will answer to the best of my ability._

 _But more importantly! I hope you continue to enjoy this story and thank you so much to those of you reading my other stories as well!_

 _ahhh just thank you thank you thank you. Sorry. Moving on to the story now._

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"Akashi?" Aomine stepped out of Kuroko's room to answer his phone.

"Daiki, there's a problem."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Keep Tetsuya safe."

"Oi! Come here and do it yourself!"

"I can't."

"What the hell! Tell me what is going on now!"

"Okazaki is after me."

"That's not exactly new news dummy." Aomine scowled.

"It's different this time. Haizaki knows Tetsuya's alive, but Okazaki might not know. If I go back…"

"How do you know this line isn't tapped? He could be listening."

"That's impossible Daiki. But in case it is tapped, I want you to send me a text that says Tetsuya is dead. It won't look authentic to anyone paying close attention but…"

"What the hell do we do if Tetsu wakes up?"

"Is Midorima there?"

"Don't ignore me damn it."

"Give Midorima the phone."

Aomine sighed and called Midorima over and handed him the phone.

"Akashi?" Midorima spoke.

"Shintaro, I can't come back to the hospital tonight."

"What about…"

"Keep him sedated. Also, get rid of all his medical files from after he was shot. Make a death certificate too. For all intensive purposes, Tetsuya is dead now."

"Akashi…."

"All of you need to keep your head low for the next few days."

"Akashi."

"I'm sorry Shinataro. I have to go."

"Akashi!" Midorima shouted into the phone but Akashi had already hung up. "Just what the hell is going on?" The greenette mumbled and went back into Kuroko's room. He returned the phone to Aomine and walked off with Takao following close behind.

"Shin-chan. What are you doing?" Takao asked as he watched Midorima write up a new chart with a time of death.

"Shut-up Takao."

"But Kuroko isn't…"

Midorima clamped his hand over the shorter mans mouth. "He is."

"But we just saw him!"

"You can't talk about this to anyone." Midorima turned and stared into Takao's eyes. "We have to pretend Kuroko is dead."

"D…does this have something to do w…with the shooter and your weird red head friend with a chip on his shoulder?"

Midorima's eyes widened. "Wait….you don't know…?"

"Know what? What's going on Shin-chan. Tell me right now or I'll set your lucky item on fire!" Takao demanded furiously with a pout. He wasn't keen on the idea of gigantic secrets with deadly consequences looming about, as if anyone would be.

"You didn't know that Akashi was head of the Akashi yakuza family?" Midorima asked curiously and rather surprised. Takao shook his head with a similar look of bewilderment. "Even Kise figured that one out."

"I'm standing right here Midorimacchi!" Kise announced annoyed at what Midorima was insinuating. Both Takao and Midorima jumped and whipped their heads around to see the blonde, navy head, and purple head trio behind them.

"And Ryota didn't figure anything out. I had to tell him." Aomine added while smacking Kise.

Midorima pushed his glasses up and took a breath. "I see."

"Daikicchi!"

"That still doesn't explain what's going on here." Takao interrupted. Midorima sighed and shoved them all into a staff sleeping room and locked the door.

"What's said in here stays between us. And for the love of horoscopes, keep your voices down!" Midorima began in a whisper shout. The others agreed, even though Takao was confused. "You explain Daiki."

"Since when do you call me by my first name?" Aomine asked Midorima suspiciously.

"Just explain!" Midorima hissed.

Aomine sighed and complied. "Tetsu was taken because he was Akashi's lover."

"He still is." Kise interrupted.

"That's kind of hard when the guy is mentally fucked up!" Aomine retorted.

Takao sighed. "Can we move on please? I don't have all day."

"Yeah yeah. Anyway, Akashi's father, the former head of the Akashi clan, screwed over a man named Okazaki. Okazaki killed himself but now his son is out for blood and he wants to kill Tetsu and Akashi, or so I've been told." Aomine summed up the situation and sat on the bed. "And we are officially caught up in the whole thing. So now you know."

"We need to make them think Kuroko is dead, otherwise they will come after him again. If they believe Kuroko is dead, they will go after Akashi." Midorima added.

"But Aka-chin can defend himself."

"Shin-chan! How could you have kept all this from me!"

"Shhh. Keep your voice down. I thought you knew at least some of it. How was I supposed to know you were clueless! I thought Kise was the only idiot we had to deal with!"

"That's so mean Midorimacchi."

"He has a point Ryota."

"Not you too Daiki!"

"I don't know if I should be offended or happy that you left the cchi off my name."

"Kida!" Akashi called to one of his men who promptly rushed to his side. "Alpha Teams 1-3 positions report!"

"Yes boss! Uh lets see." Kida looked down at his tablet.

"Quickly Kida! I don't have all day!"

"Yes boss. Sorry boss. Team Alpha 1 is in position on the east side of block 26 sir."

"And the other two?"

"Surrounding the hospital sir."

"Good. Get back to work." Akashi ordered and continued to his office. He had returned to base (home) since it was the safest place.

Three of his men, Ino, Marcus, and Andrei, were already waiting for him.

"Report." Akashi ordered as he took a seat. The men bowed and returned to their seats except for Ino who gave the first report.

"No sightings of Okazaki near the warehouse. Hazaki has been moved to the cellar and is under guard." Ino bowed and sat. The next to stand was Marcus.

"Report." Akashi demanded.

"Sir. No movement from the enemies hideout since yesterday at 19:00 hours." Marcus gulped as a pair of scissors flew past his cheek.

"Don't waste my time with useless information Marcus!" Akashi shouted with a menacing glare. Marcus bowed deep in apology.

"Excuse me sir. I do have something you might find useful."

"Oh?"

"Here." Marcus handed the boss a photo which Akashi took and scanned thoroughly, his eyes widening in surprise, but mostly in anger.

"So he…they are part of this too….I never thought…." Akashi growled before fixing Marcus with another glare that didn't match his next words.

"Very good. Next."

The last of the three men, Andrei, stood and bowed. "Boss, remaining alpha and beta teams are in position. What are your orders for them?"

"Same as before. Watch for suspicious activity and report anything unusual. Don't wait for orders to shoot if the situation demands it. That is all. Now get back to work!"

The men bowed and left the room quickly.

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 _Btw, I'm thinking of starting another story either where Kuroko is abused by his parents (I've wanted to do this scenario for a while but it's been done a lot) or where Kuroko is an assassin sent to kill Akashi. It would be akakuro either way because I'm obsessed. I need to get over this obsession sheesh._


	17. Chapter 17: Those With Grudges

_How the hell did we get to chapter 17 already! I swear we aren't half way through the story yet! Dang...okay...I'm apparently wasting too much time with pointless details or something...like wth..just how...come on Akashi, kill this sucker already!_

 _I'm so sorry this is moving so slow but I appreciate your patience and support and all your comments. I promise we will get to Kuroko soon._

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"Boss?" A brunette stepped into the room and bowed respectively.

"What is it, Furusawa?" Akashi kept his eyes on the photo, not bothering to look up at his secretary when he spoke.

"Nothing sir. Is something wrong sir? You seem distracted…."

"It seems it's a small world."

"Excuse me sir?" Furusawa arched his brow in confusion.

"An opponent I faced in basketball in high school is now dealing with our enemy it seems." Akashi gave a small twisted chuckle. "It's like this man is pulling every enemy I had in back then in to his ranks."

"Maybe he is."

Akashi's head shot up and his eyes nearly bore a hole in the man before him. "Are you suggesting?"

"Is it not possible sir? I heard that Haizaki fellow and you didn't get along too well either."

A pair of scissors flew passed the man, the second pair of the evening, and Akashi's left eye glowed amber. "Do NOT say his name in my presence again! Next time I'll have your head."

"I'm very sorry sir. I was out of line." Furusawa bowed deeply again. "If there is nothing you need then I shall take my leave."

Akashi waved his hand in dismissal and Furusawa left. The red head continued to stare at the photo a moment longer before calling Aomine.

"Hello?" Aomine answered.

"Do you still have Satsuki's number?"

"Of course."

"I need you to call her."

"What for?"

"I need information on all of my enemies from high school."

"Uh….Akashi…that's basically like asking for information on every human on the planet."

"Aomine Daiki!" Akashi growled. He was not feeling like a patient person, not that he often was. "I'm being serious! It's possible Okazaki is using people from back then who had a grudge with me. Haizaki and now even Hanamiya and his crew appear to be involved."

"That's still a lot of people."

"I don't care, Daiki! Get it done if you don't want to be at the bottom of Tokyo Bay tomorrow!" Akashi yelled, surprising Aomine and the men outside his door.

"Geeze. Someone is cranky."

"Do. Not. Test. Me."

"Hai. Hai. I'll get right on it." Aomine hung up and turned to the pale shaking blond beside him.

"Akashicchi sounds angrier that usual." Kise observed as Aomine clicked on Momoi's number.

"What do you expect?"

The call to Momoi was quick. He explained the problem and she accepted to help.

"I'll do the best I can. A lot of people hated all of you back then….but there were some who hated you more than others. There were some with personal grudges against Akashi too. I'll focus on those individuals first. Just give me a few hours."

"Only a few hours?"

"I'm the queen of information gathering Dai-chan."

"Hai. Thank you your majesty. I'll talk to you later." Aomine ended the call and shoved his phone back into his pocket. "Let's go check on Tetsu…I don't like leaving him alone."

"I agree." Kise nodded and the two headed back to Kuroko's room.

Kuroko was asleep, but he looked anything but peaceful. His face had a pained expression and one of the nurses had strapped him to the bed to keep him from moving and aggravating his wounds. Kise and Aomine took the couch in the room and Murasakibara took a chair. They sat watching the small figure helplessly.

"What do you think Kurokocchi is seeing right now?" Kise wondered aloud.

"Darkness?" Murasakibara suggested.

"Maybe we should try talking to him? Like uhh…." Aomine drew blanks and turned to Kise. Kise was a natural chatterbox.

"Eh? Well um….uh…." For possibly the first time ever, Kise had no words, but surprisingly, Murasakibara did.

"Kuro-chin, did I tell you I've been studying in France. I've learned lots of new things and a lot of recipes with vanilla. When you get better, I'll make you lots of vanilla pastries! There's vanilla cakes and…"

Aomine and Kise stared as the giant started listing off every vanilla flavored pastry concoction known to man. They didn't even understand half of it and eventually realized the purple haired giant had switched to speaking half French half Japanese! He was getting quite enthusiastic over the whole ordeal and slowly, the pained expression on Kuroko's face seemed to melt away into a more neutral one.

Aomine just shrugged and pulled Kise close. The blond let him and rested on his lovers shoulder letting his eyelids droop until they closed completely and he drifted off to sleep listening to something about some vanilla something or other that the giant had stopped his rambling to explain each ingredient of. Aomine relaxed as well and closed his eyes wondering when Murasakibara became so talkative, not that it mattered.

"Mine-chin. Mine-chin, wake up. Your phone is ringing." Murasakibara shook Aomine till the navy haired man opened his eyes.

"Huh? What is it?" He replied groggily.

"Your phone."

"Oh. Shit!" Aomine cursed as he pulled out his phone suddenly wide awake and scowling.

"Hey Momoi. Got the info I asked for?"

"Yeah. Akashi isn't going to like it though. By the way, thanks for telling me you all found Tetsu-chan and he's in the fucking hospital!"

Aomine gulped. He forgot….."Uh…yeah….about that…"

"We will talk about it later Dai-chan. The information first." Momoi sounded pissed.

"Right. What did you find?"

"I found a common factor among quite a few of the generation of miracles enemies. It's probably related to whatever is going on with you all and it's not good. The name of a gang keeps popping up. Does Kintatsu-kai sound familiar to you?"

"Familiar? They are the whole cause of this fucking mess!"

"Then it is related. The gang seems to be involved with Hara, Seto, Yamazaki, and Hanamiya from Kirisaki Daīchi High's basketball team. Matsumoto was probably involved too, but he died in an accident two years ago. Furuhashi was involved as well but he left the country. Haizaki from Teiko also appears to have been in contact with the gang. Arato from Teiko's baseball team, you probably don't remember him, also popped up. He hated Akashi but left Teiko during our third year before Tetsu-kun disappeared. I don't know what he was doing for three years, but the next time his name pops up among a group of Kintatsu-kai members who were arrested for arson two years ago. They were released due to lack of evidence, or so the reports say."

"Can you slow down? I'm having trouble writing all this down fast enough." Aomine grunted as he typed the info on a message in his phone.

"Sorry Dai-chan."

"It's okay. Any more information?"

"Yeah. Inoue and Hyata from Kamizaki, who also happen to hate your guts specifically, Dai-chan, are apparently working under the Kintatsu-kai as well. It's like the Kintatsu-kai went hunting for members among high school sports teams advertising they would crush the generation of miracles one day and got all your enemies on board!"

"Well most of our enemies _were_ other basketball teams."

"Yeah, but who would have guessed they would end up working with or in a gang! I thought sports were supposed to keep kids out of trouble like gangs!" Momoi huffed.

"Obviously not. Is that all?"

"It's all I've found so far. I'll call you if I find anything else."

"Thanks. And I promise I'll explain all of this later."

"You better Dai-chan. I want answers!" Momoi practically hissed before hanging up the phone.

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 **You know, originally, this was supposed to be about the effects of the four years of captivity, abuse, rape, and trauma Kuroko suffered and the effect it had on his former teammates. Somehow though, it turned into gang wars, revenge, yakuza boss's, underworld conflicts, and old enemies.**

 **uh...so I veered off topic slightly?**

 **Anyway, once Okazaki and Akashi straighten out their shit, it will go back to the original focus of the story. So just wait it out please!**


	18. Chapter 18: Missing

_Okay, so I've decided where I'm going with this...assuming the characters don't write themselves going somewhere else along the way again. I swear the characters and plot just write themselves sometimes and don't even bother listening to me :D_

 _Anyways, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this if you have time._

 _Thank you to all my lovely readers who keep reading! YAY for 5k views!_

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"Makoto! Get your ass over here!" Okazaki shouted to a man in a grey suit with shoulder length black hair and a scowl.

"What up boss?" Makoto Hanamiya yawned not even bothering to politely cover his mouth.

"I got a job for you and your group." Okazaki smirked and rested his feet on his desk.

"It's about time. The ass or the bitch?" Makoto smirked as well as he referred to Akashi and Kuroko by his favorite nicknames for them. Rather uncreative nicknames I might add.

"The 'bitch' may or may not already be dead. That's your job. Find out. If he's alive, you may do as please with him as long as the end result is his death. And keep in mind, I want to make it as painful for that red head bastard as possible." Okazaki's eyes narrowed as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. Hanamiya smirked.

"I know just the thing, but wasn't Haizaki supposed to take care of that?" He asked with half interest.

"Yes and no. If I were dumb enough to think there was a good chance of killing someone in a damn hospital, you wouldn't be following me."

"True." Hanamiya shrugged. "I don't need idiots."

"Touché. Haizaki was supposed to be captured by Akashi and the bastard actually fell for it. Of course, killing the bitch, as you call him, would have been a plus, but I intended to give that job to you all along. Haizaki's group will take down Akashi Seijūrō once we have played with him a bit more."

Even Hanamiya shuddered a bit at the tone of Okazaki's voice and that menacing grin spreading across his face.

"Don't suppose we can play with the bitch a bit to?"

"Oh?" Okazaki fixed Hanamiya with an interested glare and one eyebrow raised. "You have something in mind, Makoto?"

"Yeah, I do actually. A way to have some fun with both of them before ending their miserable existences." He chuckled chaotically.

"You've got my attention." Okazaki grinned wider as he removed his feet from his desk and replaced them with folded hands ready to hear this idea.

Aomine, Kise, and Murasakibara ran down the hospital hallway to the nurse's station.

"Where's Kurokocchi/Dr. Midorima/Mido-chin and Kuro-chin?" The three yelled at the frightened on duty nurse. Aomine and Kise were gripping the counter catching their breaths as Murasakibara towered behind them.

"Pl….please c…calm down and sp…speak one at a time."

"Where is Kuroko Tetsuya, the patient down the hall?" Kise growled making the nurse shrink back. With shaking hands, she looked something up on the computer before turning her gaze back to the three angry visitors.

"There is no Kuroko Tetsuya?" The nurse asked more than stated. Aomine slapped the blond on the back of the head.

"Idiot!" Aomine shouted before turning back to the nurse. "Where is Dr. Midorima?"

"He's in his office I believe.." The nurse replied again uncertain. Murasakibara nodded to her before following the other two who had already charged up.

Midorima looked up from his computer with a worried frown when the three burst into his office looking like they had just ran away from a tiger.

"What the hell!?"

"Did you move Tetsu?!" Aomine half wheezed and half shouted. Judging by the way Midorima's eyes grew wide, the other threes fears were confirmed.

"He should be in his room…." Midorima whispered. He clicked a button on his phone. "Page Nurse Takao please. Tell him to come to my office."

"Yes sir." A voice replied. Midorima turned his attention back to the other three who had caught their breath.

"Where's Kuro-chin…." Murasakibara muttered. The greenette shook his head.

"Maybe he was moved on accident." He suggested. Aomine scowled.

"We were with him!"

"Then shouldn't you know where he is." Midorima's eyes narrowed.

"We were asleep." The blond of the group admitted guiltily looking at the floor with tears in his eyes. Aomine pulled him close and tried to comfort him as Kise sobbed into his shirt. "What if….What if….."

"Shhh." Aomine stroked Kise's head. There wasn't anything he could say.

"Shin-chan? Did you need…" Takao paused as he entered and noticed the grim and frightened expressions and the sobbing Kise. "What happened?" He asked in a low whisper, his own voice shaking.

Midorima shook his head. "Do you know where Kuroko is?"

Takao shook his head as he began to grasp the situation. "Maybe he just got up….." He tried to offer pointlessly. Obviously there was no way Kuroko walked off on his own for about a hundred different reasons and normally someone would have smacked the raven-haired man, but the realization that Kuroko was missing left them too paralyzed to even try.

Takao walked over to Midorima and pulled Midorima's head till it touched his stomach. Midorima grabbed the sides of Takao's scrubs with shaking hands.

"We should call Akashi." Aomine whispered still holding his lover in his arms. Murasakibara pulled out his phone and took the task since he was the only one not busy in the room.

Akashi didn't pick up his cell. It was odd, but Murasakibara didn't say anything to the others and tried Akashi's private home phone. He didn't want to worry the others if it wasn't necessary.

"Hello. This is Furusawa speaking. May I ask who's calling?" The voice answered.

"Murasakibara Atsushi. May I speak to Aka-chin please, I mean Akashi?" The violet haired man corrected himself so the other would know who he meant.

Furusawa recognized the name and Akashi's nickname from Akashi's stories and let out a shaky breath surprising Murasakibara.

"He's not here." Furusawa admitted. "And since you're asking for him, I'm guessing you don't know where he is either."

"Aka-chin is missing….."

"Yes."

"What?" Midorima, who overheard, shot up and stared at Murasakibara. Aomine clenched his fist and Kise stopped crying. "Give me the phone Atsushi!" Midorima demanded and was handed the phone. He put it on speakerphone.

"How long has he been missing?" He asked, trying to keep himself calm. Takao squeezed his hand for reassurance.

"His last known location and time was his office sleeping about two hours ago" Furusawa replied without asking who was speaking. He figured it was part of the group Akashi mentioned he was at the hospital with. Midorima looked over at Aomine who understood the silent question. He nodded. It was possible for Kuroko to have disappeared around the same time.

"Kuroko Tetsuya is missing too." Midorima informed the other man who cursed under his breath.

"You should stay put. I'll send some of our men in to guard you."

"Not here. I would prefer not to endanger the hospital."

"Then our men will bring you to the estate. Make any preparations necessary but do not tell anyone where you are going." Furusawa gave them a few more instructions before hanging up and shouting orders at some of the men in the room with him. This was going to be a long night.


	19. Chapter 19: Torture

_**IMPORTANT!**_ _ **I have posted two chapters in one day. This is the second so make sure you read chapter 18 first!**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

 _Warnings! Mentions of rape but nothing detailed or graphic._

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Blood. The scent of blood was the first thing he was aware of. That somewhat metallic smell, but it was old, and he was pretty sure it didn't belong to him. His eyes were closed and he kept them that way for a moment longer. He knew he wasn't in the office anymore due to another scent, a salty one like the sea, and the slight breeze that it rode. His body felt unusually weak although he wasn't hungry or thirsty, so it was likely the effect of a drug, and he probably hadn't been out for too long. A few hours maybe?

Something around his wrists, probably some type of cuffs, were holding him up so his feet just barely touched the floor. He heard very few sounds. The main one was likely wind blowing against walls and another was an occasional creaking sound, perhaps something being blown by the wind. However, for the most part, there was an uncomfortable silence.

Akashi opened his eyes slowly until he was sure it was safe to open them fully. When he did, he realized he was in a warehouse, probably one near the port. It was old and falling apart though with some of the windows towards the ceiling broken allowing the small breeze he felt earlier. It was a full moon outside allowing enough light into the building for him to see the splotches of old dried red liquid covering the floor which explained the stench. None of this fazed him much though. One grows familiar with such kinds of places when being the head of a Yakuza family, however, it's admittedly different when you're the one hanging.

What bothered him was the decently large screen set atop crates in front of him. It was likely a television screen which could mean several things, none of which were good. His capturers were likely going to make him watch something and if Akashi was in their shoes, he knows what he would put on that screen. Tetsuya should be safe in the hospital, but he knew there was no guarantee. If Okazaki was smart enough to capture Akashi from his own estate, taking someone from the hospital who couldn't even put up a fight would be easy. There was also the chance they took the others as well. Then there was the worst possibility. One of the generations could be working for Okazaki. He hated that thought, but he needed to keep his mind open to all possibilities. After all, the information Daiki gave him from Satsuki suggested that Okazaki, who he knew was behind all this, had pulled many from their high school days into his ranks and it would make sense. If one of the generations was in on this, they could have gotten past his security and Tetsuyas as well.

"We meet again." An icy voice cut through the building pulling Akashi from his thoughts. He knew that voice.

"Haizaki Shogo." He stated in a dangerous tone.

Sure enough, Haizaki stepped in from the entrance and into the moonlight with a cruel grin.

"How does it feel to be on the receiving end, Akashi Seijūrō?" Haizaki spat out the name before chuckling. "Don't worry, we won't hurt you." He grinned mischievously.

Akashi flashed a cold grin of his own but lacking any amusement as he raised an eyebrow. "We?"

"We." A voice Akashi didn't recognize cut in as another man stepped into the moonlight.

"I take it you're Okazaki Riichi?" Akashi guessed without a hint of fear.

"You are correct." Okazaki confirmed as he continued to walk towards Akashi till their faces were only a few inches from each other's. Cold, cruel, and confident hazel eyes stared into red and amber with just as much confidence and coldness. Okazaki's dark orange hair hung just above Akashi's forehead since he was slightly taller than the latter and his mouth twitched in a satisfied grin.

"What do you want?"

"To make you suffer." Okazaki replied nonchalantly as he finally took a step back. "I want to break you the way your father broke mine. And to make it even better, I'll break your friends too."

Akashi couldn't keep his boiling rage from forming a scowl on his face as his enemy stood grinning before him smug and satisfied. His whole body screamed to do something, but there was nothing he could do except refuse Okazaki the one thing the man wanted most. Akashi would not break. No matter what this man did, he decided right then and there, he would not break. He would not give this man another ounce of satisfaction. He squared his shoulders (the best someone hanging by the wrist possibly can) and stared Okazaki straight in the eyes forcing a neutral expression onto his face but letting his fiery rage burn in his eyes.

"I am Akashi Seijuro and I will not break." He stated with all the fierceness of a thousand blazing fires. It was enough to make Haizaki take a few steps back but Okazaki only chuckled and met Akashi's gaze accepting the challenge.

"We shall see about that. Haizaki!" He shouted causing Haizaki to jump. The latter pulled out a remote and pressed a button.

Akashi swore his heart nearly stopped. He expected this. It was the most logical action for Okazaki to take. He knew. He knew what would be on that screen, but when it turned on, when he saw it, when it was actually reality, it was so much worse than he could have ever imagined. He felt the bile rise in his throat and his eyes sting but he swallowed and bit his lip forcing the tears back. Instinctively he tried to look away, but a third man he hadn't noticed was behind him and hands reached out to hold his eyes open and forearms kept his head in place. He couldn't look away.

On the screen was his beloved Tetsuya naked with fresh new bruises and wounds. Then a familiar face entered the picture and Akashi couldn't help but growl.

"Hanamiya Makoto."

Okazaki chuckled again. "Yes. This was his idea actually." The gang leader pressed a button on what must have been a small microphone attached to his suit. "Makoto, say hello." He ordered before gesturing something to the man behind Akashi.

On the screen, Akashi watched as Hanamiya nodded to the command.

"Hello Akashi. It's been a while. It's good to see you again. And yes _we_ can see you." Hanamiya's malicious hiss came through the speakers and Akashi fought the urge to scowl. He felt the hand behind him on his left retreat and return with a small microphone. Haizaki stepped towards them and attached the microphone to Akashi's collar before stepping back. Akashi was drugged and couldn't move, but Haizaki still wanted to be out of range. He couldn't escape Akashi's glare though which made him shiver involuntarily.

"Hello Makoto." Akashi replied dryly.

"Your little Tetsuya has been a good boy. He hasn't even resisted…not that he can." Hanamiya added before turned back to the bluenette and grabbing him by the hair. He dragged him closer to the screen. His eyes were dry but red and full of fear and tear stains on his cheeks were further evidence of his recent sobs.

* * *

When Aomine, Kise, Midorima, Takao, and Murasakibara arrived at the Akashi estate, it had already been infiltrated by the enemy since most of Akashi's men were out searching for him and Kuroko. The group was led to a room with two large screen tvs and Furusawa who had already been captured.

"Tetsu….shit!" Aomine cursed as he stepped into the room first and saw the first screen. He cursed again as he looked at the second screen and saw Akashi and tried to shield Kise from seeing but it was too late. He caught the blond just before he could fall and guided him to the couch. The rest were ushered in by the enemy and took seats. Midorima held Takao's hand in a bone crushing grip and Takao let him as they both stared disbelievingly. Murasakibara was muttering something under his breath as he stared with a murderous rage. Furusawa gave them all apologetic looks and Takao shook his head as he began to cry.

None of them wanted to look, but they didn't have a choice. Men stepped behind each of them with guns to their heads and ordered them to watch if they didn't want to get shot. So they watched because it was the only thing they could do for their friends. Stay alive.

* * *

Hanamiya pulled his fist back and punched Kuroko just as the other hand let go of his blue hair. Kuroko's body slammed into the wall and the breath was knocked from him again. He wanted to scream, but he bit his cheek. He couldn't scream. He couldn't. It would only make things worse.

But the pain was intense. His whole body hurt. He felt his consciousness slipping but he held on tight and focused on the pain to keep him alert. If he passed out, they said they would hurt the other man, Akashi, the one who had been so kind to him for days, the one on the screen on the wall. He couldn't let them. He would take this. He could take this.

Another sharp pain and then another and another as several men surrounded him and threw their hits. He covered his head with his hands and tensed his muscles in an attempt to lessen the damage.

Then it stopped almost as suddenly as it started, but it was far from over. Kuroko gasped as a cold finger was thrust inside his hole and held back a whimper. He let a tear escape his eyes before a moan escaped his throat. The men took turns taunting him and having their way with his body till each had their chance. Then they left him in a pool of blood and semen and slammed the door shut. That was the last thing he remembered before the darkness overtook him.

* * *

Akashi wasn't sure how long it lasted, how long he watched as Kuroko was beaten and raped. Akashi never cried out. He never begged them to stop no matter how much he wanted to. He kept his feelings inside and held his tears. Eventually it stopped and he watched the men leave Kuroko in the room before he felt a slight prick in his neck. Something was injected and everything went dark.

When he woke again it was to Okazaki smacking him in the face. He winced only slightly before establishing his mask and opening his eyes. There was some light now but it was fading and he was no longer hanging. Instead he was tied to a chair.

"Good morning sweet heart." Okazaki purred sarcastically before letting out a quick laugh. "I hope you slept well. Don't worry; it's only 4 P.M. in case you wanted to know." He snapped his fingers and a man Akashi hadn't seen earlier appeared in front of him. It took a moment for the red head to recognize him as Arato formerly of Teiko's Baseball team.

"Hello Akashi. I'd say it's a pleasure to see you again but it's not." Arato scowled.

"Same to you." Akashi replied and held the others gaze.

"Drink." Arato shoved an open water bottle into Akashi's mouth and tipped it nearly choking the red head with the water. Akashi swallowed more eagerly than he would have liked until half the bottle was gone and it was removed.

"Giving the enemy water, aren't you sweet." Akashi teased Okazaki who just smirked.

"I don't want you passing out from dehydration before the show is over. In fact, I'll even feed you. Arato." He snapped his fingers and Arato set the bottle down. He went over to a crate that was being used as a table and grabbed a wrapped half sandwich then returned.

"How kind." Akashi murmured sarcastically and accepted a bite. When the food was gone, Okazaki ordered Arato to leave. Haizaki entered moments later.

"Ready for another show?" Haizaki sneered grabbing the remote. Akashi didn't bother replying. The screen flickered on and for another two hours he watched as Hanamiya and his men tortured Kuroko. They burned, whipped, and raped him while Akashi could do nothing but watch. When it was over, a needle stabbed his neck and the darkness resumed.

That was the routine for three more days.

* * *

The situation at the estate was only slightly different. Furusawa, Takao and the generations weren't drugged or tied up. Guns to their heads and threats to kill Akashi and Kuroko were enough to keep them in line. However, Okazaki's men didn't force them to watch. The livestreams still played on the screens, but they didn't have to watch them. They couldn't tune out the sounds though and often watched out of concern.

Luckily, Furusawa had gotten a message to the men who still remained loyal to Akashi and warned them to stay away. All Furusawa and the others could do was wait and hope those men would find a way to get them out of this mess.


	20. Chapter 20: Day Four

_**IMPORTANT!**_ _ **I updated this story twice yesterday which wasn't more than a few hours before this so please make sure you read chapter 18 and 19 first.**_

 _Just figured I should warn you since I don't usually update multiple chapters in a 24 hour period. I'm just kind of on a roll here._

 _Personally, I think this is the best chapter yet. (I mean writing wise not oh yay it's so happy!...cuz it's not)_

 _Anyway, I hope you enjoy. I'd love to hear your thoughts!_

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Three days. Three days of torture. Three days of rape. Three days without food. Three days trapped. Three days that amounted to something worse than four years of hell had. Three days of Hanamiya's version of hell.

Three days of torture. Three days watching his beloved be tortured. Three days holding back his screams. Three days holding back his tears. Three days tied up. Three days of Okazaki's version of hell.

Three days of guns to their heads. Three days of watching their friends suffer. Three days in that room. Three days of crying. Three days of fear. Three days of their captors versions of hell.

Three days.

Seventy-two hours.

Four thousand three hundred and twenty minutes.

Two hundred and fifty nine thousand two hundred seconds.

Kuroko was afraid. He was in pain and yet almost numb all at once. He didn't know how long it had been since he was brought to his current location. He didn't know where he was. He didn't know why this was happening. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't. He couldn't even whimper or cry. His body could give out at any moment and he was ready to let it, but part of him wanted to fight. He couldn't let them hurt Akashi. He still didn't know why, but he knew Akashi meant more than anything to him. But what was left of his mind after the last four years was slipping and he wasn't sure how much longer he had.

Akashi was losing his battle to remain composed; to not break. He began to wonder if breaking would somehow save Tetsuya. His rational self knew better. That's not how things worked in this business. You took what you want and once you have it, you eliminate the rest. If Akashi gave in, that would be the end of it all. Him breaking was Okazaki's goal. Once Okazaki reached that goal, Akashi, Tetsuya, and the others would be what was left and they would be disposed of. Right now there was still hope. Someone could still come for them. His men were probably searching half the country day and night or forming a plan. He just needed to hold on a little longer, but how much longer did Kuroko have? How much longer did any of them have?

Kise was out of tears. He felt numb to everything around him. He never watched the screens after the first day. He had never felt so helpless, so useless, in his entire life. He wanted to breakdown and give up, but he couldn't do that. He was supposed to be the optimist of the group. If the optimistic one gave up then it truly was hopeless. He had to stay hopeful. It was his job to smile no matter how bad things got. Kuroko and Akashi were going through hell and they were still fighting, so he had to fight too in his own way.

Aomine was angry. He felt responsible. He let his shadow and friend be taken twice. He became a police officer to protect people from guys like Okazaki and he couldn't even protect two of his friends and his lover. He couldn't even protect himself! He tried to remain calm on the outside to support Kise. Kise wasn't as strong when it came to things like this. Even though his lover offered him smiles from time to time, they were forced and they broke his heart. But Kise was trying and he would too. He mulled over countless plans in his mind and he felt like he was getting close to an answer. He just needed it before their time was up.

Murasakibara was livid. He wanted to crush their captors and he probably could, but he refrained with all his effort. He didn't know what was on the other side of that door. He didn't know if someone had a kill switch. He didn't know if Okazaki was watching and would kill Akashi and Kuroko the moment he turned against the captors. So with all his effort, he held himself back. Instead of tearing them to pieces in reality, he did it in his imagination till his thoughts began to terrify even him. Then he slept.

Midorima was panicking. He kept it to himself for the most part, but he couldn't hide it from Takao. He hated watching the screens but he forced himself to do it. The doctor in him forced himself to do it. When this was over, Kuroko and Akashi would need treatment and it would be better if he already knew as much as he could. Although that was probably an excuse. If he could focus on counting the fractures, cuts, and other injuries, he could focus on the logical part of the situation instead of the emotional part that he didn't know how to deal with. So he counted. He thought up the treatments in his head and adjusted them as needed. He pushed his emotions into a dusty corner of his mind and begged them to remain there. They were no use to him right now.

Takao was worried. He barely knew the two on the screen, though that didn't stop him from feeling hurt watching what they were going through. He barely knew most of the others in the room, but he still sympathized with them as he watched them struggle with their own demons and fears in their personal hells. However, he did know Midorima and he knew Midorima was close to the others and Midorima was hurting. He wanted to comfort his lover, but there was little he could do, especially since Midorima wouldn't acknowledge his own emotions. All he could do was watch as everyone fell apart around him and not cause trouble.

Furusawa was calm. Of course he cared about his boss, but he was trained for things like this. Or maybe he was too afraid to be anything other than calm. That thought crossed his mind but he pushed it away quickly. His comrades were working hard to find the boss. He had been able to sneak a few communications with them by various codes to know that much. He just needed to sit tight and be ready when the time to move came.

Three days carried on the same, but the fourth day was different.

The screens didn't turn on at the usual times. No one knew whether to be relieved or terrified by that so they all waited anxiously. By midnight, they had settled into an uneasy sleep when the screens finally turned on.

* * *

"Hara!" Hanamiya growled at a man with purple hair covering his eyes.

"Hai, Hai. Here." Hara handed a large knife to Hanamiya who showed it off to the audience before turning towards Kuroko.

"Seto, Inoue, hold him down." He shouted at two of the other males who quickly held the small bluenette down. There wasn't really any need since Kuroko was paralyzed with fear and too weak anyway, but Hanamiya wanted assurances. Once they had him restrained, Hanamiya nodded to another man.

"Yamazaki, attach the device."

"Yes sir." Yamazaki began attaching Kuroko's hand to the strange device.

Making sure his actions were clearly visible to the audience he raised the knife to Kuroko's neck and ordered him to stay still if he wanted to live. Kuroko didn't respond, but he wasn't expected to. Hanamiya nodded again to Yamazaki. "Begin." He ordered.

* * *

Furusawa stared wide eyed. He just got the signal that Akashi had been found and Kuroko's location was identified. The plan was about to move foreward. They were so close. They just needed a bit more time. Just a little longer. Why now?

* * *

Everything inside Akashi was screaming as he watched the contraption rip Kuroko's nails off one by one and Kuroko's desperate efforts not to move. It was futile though and the knife cut into his skin a little more with each nail.

"Tetsuya…." He finally whispered just quietly enough that neither Okazaki nor Haizaki heard him. However he couldn't hold back his tears any longer. He couldn't hold back his pain any longer. He wasn't broken, but he was breaking.

He felt the knife digging into his throat. He felt his nails being ripped from his skin. He felt the pain and the fear like a tsunami aiming all its force on his small frame. And that's when it happened. They say your life flashes before your eyes right before you die and maybe it was true, because at that moment, he saw his life. It wasn't the last four years playing in his head. It was before that. It was his childhood. It was the times he played basketball. It was meeting the generation of miracles and becoming Aomine's shadow. But the memories that stuck out the most were those with a red haired teen, the captain of the generation of miracles, Akashi Seijūrō, his boyfriend. He knew who the man on the screen was now. He knew who the man who held him in that shed was. His memories still weren't complete, but there was enough, and he was glad he had held out so long. He was glad he fought so hard to keep Akashi safe.

Surprising everyone including himself, his lips curled upwards into a small smile and he whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"Sei-kun!"

He wanted to say so much more. He wanted to, but he couldn't. His eyelids closed and darkness took over.

* * *

"Sei-kun!"

Akashi's eyes widened at the sound of Kuroko's voice calling his nickname. Despite the situation, a small bit of joy flowed through him. Kuroko remembered.

But the joy was short lived. Although Hanamiya had stepped back in surprise at the sudden outburst removing the threat of the knife, Kuroko's eyes closed and his body went limp. If he was breathing, it was too shallow to notice at the distance of the camera.

"TETSUYA!" Akashi yelled.

Then there were gunshots and voices. The cameras were disconnected. Everything around him was a blur and mush of colors and sounds that didn't clear until he was on top of Okazaki punching the orange haired ass hole with all his might until the man beneath went limp. Akashi wanted to kill him but there were more important things to attend to right now. He stood up before his vision went black and he fell to the floor.

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 _I wrote all this listening to Thunderstep, a youtube music composer. Mainly Guerilla, Dare the Impossible, and Enemy Approaching. So shout out to them for being inspirational!_


	21. Chapter 21: After the Storm

_So I'm going to try to make chapters for this story at least 2000 words long now instead of my usual between 1000 and 1500._

 _The apology used in this chapter is a very formal version of apology in Japanese. This is how the source I referenced explained it: Moushiwake arimasen deshita; A polite formal apology you should only use if you've done something very wrong. It might be used by the president of a company that has released a dangerous defective product. The only one more serious than that was Makoto ni moushiwake gozaimasen deshita. Explained as: mostly used by dishonoured samurai and ninja. Use this when you've fallen in love with the shogun's daughter. That one didn't seem appropriate so I used the former._

 _Anyway, I hope you enjoy and if you have time, please review/comment! Thank you!_

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"Akashi-sama! Akashi-sama, wake up!" A large black man, one of Akashi's bodyguards, knelt shaking the red head.

"Quit shaking him so hard, Nebuya!" Mibuchi, another one of his guards, shouted as he pulled Nebuya away and took Akashi into his own arms. "Akashi-sama, wake up bastard!" He shouted and slapped Akashi on the cheek.

"How is that any better than what I was doing!?"

"More effective." Akashi mumbled with his eyes slowly opening. As he regained his bearings, panic struck. "WHERE'S TETSUYA!?" He demanded.

"Blue team just confirmed he's in an ambulance on the way to the hospital, which is where you need to be going as well." Mibuchi answered with a stern look before pulling his boss up.

"Is he alive….?" Akashi's legs shook from exhaustion and lack of use but he wasn't concerned about any of that.

"He's in critical condition. Come on. I'll carry you." Mibuchi warned before picking up Akashi bridal style. Akashi didn't complain. "There is a car waiting outside. Okazaki has already been taken away."

"But he's alive."

Mibuchi nodded as he pulled Akashi to the waiting car and helped him in. "Yes boss, he's alive."

A wave of relief washed over the red head as he leaned his against the head rest and a few tears escaped his eyes. Neither guard said anything and pretended not to notice. Mibuchi began his report on the situation and Akashi half listened.

"Your friends were also being held captive along with Furusawa at the estate but are safe as well and have been taken to the hospital to be looked over. None of them suffered any serious physical injuries. Seven of our men were traitors. Five were at the estate and were responsible for your capture and two were on the team sent to the hospital. All seven are currently imprisoned in the cellar with Okazaki and the other men involved. Our side suffered four casualties during the takeover of the estate but zero during the rescue mission. Five more suffered serious injuries during the takeover but nothing fatal. About twelve men suffered minor injuries. One member from blue team, the team responsible for Kuroko's rescue, was injured. One from rainbow team, responsible for the rescue of Furusawa and your friends, was also injured." Mibuchi paused when Akashi held up his hand and raised an eyebrow when he realized his boss was chuckling.

"Blue team? Rainbow team? Should I guess my rescuers were red team?" Akashi smirked. It wasn't even that funny, but with all the tension and seriousness, it was a bit of comic relief. He needed the slight distraction from his thoughts anyway.

"Actually, we were demon team." Nebuya butted in.

"You all are terrible." Akashi chuckled and the guards smiled a bit.

"At least we couldn't mistake which team was responsible for who. By the way, Hayama came up with the name for your team in case you want to know who to punish. Shall I continue my report, sir?"

"I'll have to thank him later. And no. Just write up the rest and I'll read it later."

"Yes sir."

The rest of the ride was quiet.

When they arrived at the hospital, Mibuchi got a wheel chair for Akashi and they were taken to a private room immediately. Mibuchi left to get an update on Kuroko's condition but refused to tell Akashi anything when he returned.

"I'm ordering you Mibuchi!" Akashi growled.

"Let the doctor finish his examination and then I'll tell you."

The red head grunted but gave in and stopped fighting the doctor as he had been doing previously.

"Finish quickly. I don't have time for this." He ordered the doctor who nodded quickly.

"You need some bandages, an IV, a shot, and some rest, but otherwise you should be fine. You will only need to stay overnight." The doctor nervously concluded grabbing the bandages from the cabinet.

"Just the bandages and shot will be fine. Now," Akashi glared murderously at Mibuchi who stepped behind Nebuya, "update!"

"Yes boss. Kuroko Tetsuya is still in surgery but is expected to be out in four hours if nothing more goes wrong, sir."

Akashi narrowed his eyes. "Nothing more goes wrong? Why did you say more?"

"Uh…w…well.." Mibuchi fidgeted nervously. His boss was projecting that I-am-satan-and-I-will-kill-you aura which made the black haired guard wary. "His condition is quite unstable….."

"Why don't you start by telling me his condition since you didn't explain it earlier." Akashi growled causing the doctor, currently bandaging him, and his guards to flinch.

"Uh…well…his heart did stop, although they don't know when. If it was when he passed out, it could have been as long as fifteen minutes. The rescue teams had access to the livestream and when blue team saw Kuroko's attackers hesitate, they chose to take advantage of it, but the ambulance hadn't arrived yet. Kuroko was receiving CPR for about eight to ten minutes so.."

"Get to the point Mibuchi!"

"There could be brain damage. There are also multiple fractures and internal bleeding and he lost a lot of blood and they don't know the full extent of his injuries but his condition is unstable and…."

Akashi put his hand up to stop Mibuchi as the doctor finished bandaging him. "That's enough. I already know his injuries. I was watching everything…remember…?" He grumbled and looked down at his hands. The doctor paused and the guards stared as the floor guiltily as they apologized to their boss.

"It's fine. Just make sure we have guards outside the operating room. I want a minimum of five guards on him at all times. I want a minimum of two guards on each of my friends as well. I don't care if suits are lining every inch of every wall in this damn place as long as no more harm comes to any of them! Now go Mibuchi!"

The named guard nodded and bowed before hurrying out of the room as quickly as possible. The doctor had finished his bandaging and was injecting the shot and Nebuya remained staring at the ground.

"Okay, you're all set, but you really should take the IV and bed rest." The doctor warned but Akashi shook his head and stood up. "Is there a shower I can use?"

The doctor nodded and pointed to the bathroom in the corner of the room. "The basics should already be in there. I'll take my leave now." He bowed and left leaving Nebuya and Akashi alone.

"Nebuya, I will need a change of clothes." The red head ordered before closing the bathroom door. Nebuya took out his phone and made a call to another guard who brought one of Akashi's spare suits from the car about ten minutes later.

Akashi stepped into the bathroom and turned the hot water nob on before disrobing and stepping in. The scalding hot water was painful but refreshing. He felt as though it could burn away the past three days and all the unwanted emotions and thoughts that went with them. Of course, nothing was capable of that, but it was nice to pretend for a moment at least. After several minutes passed, he turned the cold nob to make the water more comfortable and began to scrub his body and wash his hair. At some point, Nebuya must have come in without him noticing because the new suit was already waiting on the counter when he stepped out. He put on the suit; black slacks, red button up shirt, black jacket, and black tie. When he stepped out, Nebuya was waiting with a bag, an expresso, and a bento.

"Here boss. You should eat."

Akashi accepted it and made his way out of the room and back to the lobby where he sat down with his meal and dug in. Nebuya sat beside him.

"Akashicchi! You're okay!" An annoying voice shouted across the hospital lobby as the blond member of the generation of miracles ran towards his ex-captain only to be stopped by Nebuya's arm.

"No." The guard stated. Kise pouted with a nod and took a seat next to Akashi. Unexpectedly, Nebuya pulled another bento and a coffee milk from the bag with him and handed it to Kise. "You eat too."

"Eh! Thank you! How did you know I like coffee milk!?" Kise accepted with excitement and a quick head nod of appreciation.

"So that's what's in the bag." Akashi commented to the guard who nodded.

"One bento for each and a drink. We do our research Kise Ryouta. The bento should be to your liking as well."

"Eeee yay!" Kise commented as he opened the box and found the food to be several of his favorites. "Can I hug you!?"

"NO." Both guard and boss said in unison. Kise pouted but only for a moment.

"Benny made them?" Akashi asked.

"Yeah."

"Who's Benny?"

"Sakurai, one of my guards." The red head informed between gulps of expresso. "We call him Benny since he's really good at making bentos."

"Akashi. You're alright to be up and about?" Aomine glared as he approached.

"I'm fine Daiki."

"Eat up." Nebuya offered the navy-haired man a bento and blue Gatorade. Aomine accepted with a grunted thanks and didn't question it.

"Aka-chin?" Murasakibara walked over a moment later and accepted two boxes and a soda from Nebuya before sitting across from Akashi. "Is Aka-chin okay? Aka-chin looks tired."

Akashi scowled. "Eat your food Atsushi and quit commenting on my appearance. I'm fine." He snapped. Murasakibara shrugged and did as he was told.

Takao and Midorima arrived a moment later with Furusawa behind them. None of them said anything as they accepted drinks and bentos from Nebuya and took seats. It was silent until everyone finished.

After Nebuya took all their boxes and trash, Akashi asked for their attention. In what was possibly the most unexpected turn of events in all the time they had known each other, Akashi stood and proceeded with a full bow towards his friends and two subordinates present.

"Moushiwake arimasen deshita." He apologized (one of the most polite and formal forms of apologizing in Japanese).

"A…Akashi…" Midorima stuttered. "Wh…what are you doing?!"

Akashi straightened and met each persons eyes. "I'm apologizing. Because of me…because of me you were all put in terrible danger and subjected to cruel treatment. It is only right that I apologize."

"It's not your fault Akashicchi! It's the bad guys fault!" Kise protested. Akashi's expression softened and he smiled slightly.

"Thank you Ryouta. However, I am still partially to blame."

"You don't have to give a freakin formal apology. Sheesh man." Aomine complained.

Midorima nodded. "If you are at fault then we are as well. We knew who you were and remained your friends. And your subordinates knew what they were getting themselves into when they took their job."

"Actually, I didn't know…." Takao mumbled. "But I don't blame you!" He added quickly and got a slap on the head from his partner.

"Shut up Kuzanari!" Midorima whispered.

"I don't blame you either Aka-chin."

"Yeah boss, this kind of thing is a hazard of the job." Furusawa added.

"Thank you. All of you. Really. You should get some rest." Akashi sighed and sat back in his seat.

"I'll wait. I can't sleep when we still don't know if Tetsu is going to be okay."

"Daikicchi! Don't say that in front of Akashicchi!"

"It's okay, Ryouta, Daiki. I'm fine." Akashi commented before the mentioned two could start arguing. Everyone gave him a suspicious look but shrugged and refrained from commenting. If Akashi said he was fine, they weren't going to argue, even if they knew it wasn't true. None of them wanted to admit they weren't fine at the moment. They couldn't blame him for feeling the same. For now, they would pretend all _was_ fine and deal with it later.

Kise curled up next to Aomine and rested his head on the latters chest but didn't sleep. Aomine held him without sleeping either. Murasakibara got some snacks and nibbled on them and Midorima left and returned with what was probably paperwork for him and Takao to work on. Akashi glared at the floor resting his chin on his intertwined hands as he thought out his plans for what to do next in a somewhat futile attempt to distract him. Furusawa napped. He didn't know Kuroko so he wasn't feeling as emotional as the others, although that didn't mean he didn't care. Nebuya whisper chatted with the guards who had gathered to watch everyone. The hours passed with little change.

Finally, as the sun was setting outside, the surgery was finished.


	22. Chapter 22: Hanamiya

_So I rewrote this several times. The first few versions were a lot more violent and bloody and I figured no one wanted that. If you did, I apologize. I could still do something to Okazaki I suppose._

 _Anyway, comments are appreciated as always._

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Everyone stood as the doctor who performed the surgery came over and introduced himself.

"How is he?" Akashi struggled to keep his voice steady.

"He's in a coma. We've done all we can. The rest is up to him. You can see him now."

The group looked from one to the other before nodding in unison and followed the doctor to the room where Kuroko was. Akashi stepped into the room first followed by the others.

The small body was hooked up to various life support machines and monitors. Bruises covered nearly every inch of Kuroko's body, but most were hidden by the white gauze bandages or hard casts. It was the same with the other evidence of those three days of torture. Most was hidden. They didn't need to see the evidence anyway. Most of them had watched it happen. Every broken bone. Every bruise. Every whip. Every cut. Every drop of blood. Every burn.

The reactions of the group were as mixed as their thoughts. Half of Midorima was doing his own calculations and analyzing Kuroko's conditions and the other half was begging him to stop because he was afraid of the end results. Kise was crying, but there was a subtle rage in his eyes that rarely rose to the surface. Aomine's rage wasn't even close to subtle though. He was pissed. All the anger he had felt watching the livestream was boiling in him again and he wanted nothing more than to kill the bastards who did this. Tetsu had been so damaged after they found him the first time. Aomine's rage was mixed with the fear of what it would be like when Kuroko woke up this time and all he could do was hold Kise close to one side and squeeze Murasakibara's hand on the other. Murasakibara was furious too. However, there was no fear in him, just an overwhelming desire to crush the ones who did this to his former teammate. All he could do was grip Aomine's hand in a death grip. Takao was in tears even if he didn't know Kuroko very well and even Furusawa was visibly upset. He didn't really know Kuroko at all, but watching him for three days straight, he felt a sort of pull to him. Nebuya, who didn't know Kuroko and had only seem bits and pieces of the livestream was visibly upset as well simply because no one deserved what the boy in the bed had been through and was still going through.

Of course, the most upset was Akashi. He was devastated and furious. Tears fell from his eyes without his permission and there was nothing he could do to stop them. His hands clenched into tight fists and his nails dug into the skin of his palms nearly breaking it. Without a word, he stormed from the room leaving the rest speechless. Nebuya and Furusawa shook themselves from their stupor and quickly followed their boss to the parking lot and the car.

"We're going to the cellar." Akashi ordered in a voice so cold it could freeze hell. Neither of his men bothered protesting or acknowledging. They got in the car and drove.

Once they arrived at the estate, Akashi headed down to the 'cellar'. The cellar was where they kept enemies imprisoned. It was a dark and unpleasant place, perfect for the trash rotting in it.

On the way down, Akashi pondered who to start with. Okazaki was the one behind all the hell Tetsuya had been through, but Hanamiya was the one who carried out the torture on his beloved. He decided on the latter and ordered the guards in charge of the cellar to fetch the bastard and bring him to the interrogation room. It was more like a torture room than an interrogation room and that's exactly what took place in it. Torture. Akashi's amber eye flashed dangerously and he sharpened his knives waiting for his victim. He would make Hanamiya pay. He would make them all pay. No one messes with Akashi Seijūrō and gets away with it. NO ONE.

Akashi surveyed the tools on the table as two guards dragged Hanamiya in and strapped him to a table. For once, Hanamiya's smug expression was nowhere to be found. Instead his face was consumed with a look of horror as his eyes met Akashi's blazing red and shinning amber eyes and his sadistic but calm grin.

"You didn't really think you would get away with your actions now did you?" Akashi taunted as he picked up a knife. His victim didn't reply, not that he was expecting or wanting one. The metal in his hand glinted dangerously even in the dim light much like Akashi's amber eye as he let the other 'him' assume control.

"Have you ever wondered what it would be like to skin a person alive?" Akashi smirked. "Or perhaps to cut away the limbs one at a time." The red head chuckled a bit as he lifted the knife and stabbed Hanamiya's hand. The latter screamed, but only for a moment before composing himself again. That, too, only lasted a moment, as Akashi dragged the blade up his arm in a deep but not fatal cut. Somewhat satisfied with the squirming and stifled screams of his victim he placed the knife back on the table and grabbed a scalpel.

"You know…." He placed the scalpel blade against Hanamiya's forehead and began with a small incision. "I saw this movie once. A man had the skin of his face removed while he was still alive." He continued the incision around the face in an oval as he described the scene. He set the scalpel down when he finished and grinned. Then slowly, agonizingly slow, as his victim screamed unable to keep it in any longer, Akashi pulled the skin from his face.

The guards in the room flinched slightly. It was a rather gruesome sight and perhaps the dim lighting only made it worse. What came next was worse though and most looked away, not wanting to watch another man castrated in front of them.

"Get him out of here." Akashi ordered.

"Should we treat him boss?" One of the men asked as they removed Hanamiya's restraints.

"Let him bleed in his cell. I'm leaving. I want a bath drawn and a car prepared to leave for the hospital in one hour!"

"What about Okazaki?"

"Let him squirm for a while." Akashi commanded as he left.

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 _By the way, if you don't know yet, I have two new stories up. The Fragile Phantom and Weightless Phantom._


	23. Chapter 23: Okazaki

_Yay! I've almost caught up on updating everything now, even stories that are on hold!_

 _Anyway, WARNING for a bit more torture in this chapter. Nothing as bad as most of the previous torture scenes though. I kept this one light for once :) This should be the last torture scene though with the exception of flashbacks._

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Akashi showered and bathed quickly letting himself regain his normal composure. He was drained and it wasn't even noon yet. Unfortunately, sleep would have to wait a bit longer. He needed to get back to the hospital, but first, he needed to deal with the chief of police who was apparently waiting for him in Akashi's office according to Furusawa.

"Good morning." He groaned in annoyance sparing a small bow to the chief. "What can I help you with?"

"I'm glad you are alive and well." The chief returned with a bow from his seat on the couch. Akashi scowled and took the couch across from him.

"Cut the pleasantries old man."

"You're angry." The chief surmised aloud unnecessarily. "I'm sorry for not helping you and your friends in this recent….whatever you wish to call it."

"So you did know what was going on." Akashi lowered his voice to a dangerous tone and glared at the man across from him murderously. "You knew and did nothing even though there were innocent civillians involved!?"

"My hands were tied."

"Bullshit!"

"We made a deal Akashi. I let you handle Haizaki and Okazaki in exchange for information. If the police got involved any further in your little fights, that deal would be void!" The chief desperately tried to defend himself without losing his composure, but it wasn't easy. Akashi's hands clenched into tight fists that slammed into the side of the couch with a loud thump.

"DON'T FUCK WITH ME IWA!" Akashi stood and grabbed the chief by his collar effectively lifting him off of the couch. The anger burned in his eyes as he brought the chiefs face within inches of his own. "How dare you show up in my office the morning after acting like what went down was nothing more than a childs fight! I'd throw you in Tokyo bay this instant but I don't make a habit of polluting and your sorry ass just so happens to still have some use yet. But I swear to you, show your face to me again and I'll put you through a hell far worse than anything you could ever imagine." He growled and finally tossed the man back onto the couch. "Get out of my sight before I kill you here and now!"

"B…but wh…what about out d..deal? You g..gave your word!" The Chief stuttered as he grabbed his jacket and briefcase. He wasn't quite ready to give up. Not yet.

"One of my men will send you any information we get." Akashi stated in a much calmed manner facing away from the shaken chief who only nodded before scrambling out the door and leaving the estate as fast as humanly possible.

Once he was gone, Akashi did his best to compose himself again for what felt like the millionth time that day. His fingers massaged his temples in an attempt to ward of the oncoming headache with no success. He was too tired, too exhausted to keep putting up with the shit that seemed to be barreling toward him at alarming speeds around every corner he took and he finally decided the hospital would have to wait. If Tetsuya woke, someone would call. For now he would rest. He might as well go ahead and deal with Okazaki after that before he returned to the hospital.

With a sigh, he informed Furusawa and Nebuya of the plans and retired to his room for the next ten hours. He might have slept longer, but Hayama, another one of his men, was shaking him awake.

"Boss. A 'Daiki' keeps calling your phone. It's been ringing for hours. I thought you would…" The orange haired man trailed off as Akashi tore the phone from his hands and quickly clicked the talk button.

Akashi barely even said Aomine's name before pulling the phone away from his ear to avoid the shouting from the other end.

"WHAT THE HELL AKASHI! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? WE THOUGHT SOMETHING HAPPENED TO YOU AGAIN! YOU STORMED OUT OF HERE AND THEN DIDN'T CONTACT US FOR HOURS!"

"I was sleeping." The red head replied calmly and threw his legs over the side of the bed. He groaned as he realized he had fallen asleep in his suit and it was now wrinkled.

"SLEEPING!? YOU WORRIED US SO YOU COULD SLEEP!?"

"Daiki, if you don't stop yelling, you'll be the one sleeping. Permanently."

"Sorry Akashicchi. He was really worried about you is all. You didn't call or text and…" Kise tried to defend his lover after somehow snaching the phone from the tanned cop. Akashi could still hear Aomine yelling in the background but he was grateful it was no longer in his ear.

"Sorry Ryouta. Things came up and then I was too tired to return."

"It's okay Akashicchi."

"Has there been any change in Tetsuya's condition?"

"He's still in a coma and on life support." Kise informed trying to keep the tears from being evident in his voice. Akashi knew he was probably crying though because Aomine finally stopped yelling and sounded like he was trying to soothe the poor blond. Akashi sighed and pushed away the bit of jealousy he felt rising. Everyone had a lover to lean on but him. Kise had Aomine. Midorima had Takao. Even Murasakibara had some Japanese chef back in France waiting for him and Furusawa had a wife and two kids. Until now, it hadn't bothered him, but now that it was, he didn't trust his voice. Without another word to his friends, he hung up and handed his phone back to Hayama with instructions to answer it if he got another call.

He hadn't felt like dealing out anymore punishments earlier, but now he was ready. He removed his suit coat and stepped into the hallway handing out orders to his men to bring Okazaki to the torture room before heading there himself.

Once Okazaki was placed in the room, Akashi took a deep breath and let his other self take over before entering the room.

"Okazaki." He growled, drawing the attention of the orange haired man who was chained up. Like Akashi had when he was being tortured, Okazaki had that air of defiance and determination that he held onto desperately. He stuck out his chin and refused to give a verbal response, but Akashi didn't require one. The red head picked up a knife from the table and in a swift set of movements, he drove the blade deep into Okazaki's shoulder without a single word. Okazaki stifled a scream which only seemed to satisfy Akashi more. It wouldn't be much fun if Okazaki succumbed to the pain too easily.

Stepping back to the table, Akashi grabbed another knife and repeated his previous actions driving the knife into Okazaki's other shoulder, this time twisting it at the end. Okazaki couldn't keep himself from screaming, but it was still restrained. The orange haired man than watched as Akashi stepped away again and prepared himself for another blow by closing his eyes.

It didn't come.

Cautiously, he peeked through one half opened eye lid before opening both eyes in confusion. Akashi didn't grab another knife. Just a chair. With a sadistic grin and a deadly gleam in his eyes, Akashi took a seat across from Okazaki.

"Let's play a game. I ask a question and you answer. If you tell the truth, you get to move on to the next round without further injury. If you lie, you get another knife lodged into your flesh."

"And if I refuse?" Okazaki spat his response.

"Refusal earns the same result as a lie." Akashi grinned wider and grabbed another knife from the table. "Who does the Kintatsu-kai work for?"

"No one."

"Since it's the first question, I'll give you a chance to revise your statement. Now I know you aren't some random gang without higher affiliations, so tell me. Who does the Kintatsu-kai work for?"

Okazaki growled as he studied the red head. He decided to be honest. Loyalty wasn't really his thing anyway and if he was going to die, he wasn't proud or honorable enough to not take down someone else with him. "Aizukotetsu-kai."

Akashi studied the man for signs of lying. He seemed to be telling the truth. It made sense to given the way Aizukotetsu liked to work and the fact that their current leader would have likely been willing to overlook Okazaki's grudge and determination for revenge. They were also based in Kyoto which could mean they had their own interests in taking down the Akashi family.

Akashi nodded his acceptance of the answer and continued asking more questions about the Aizukotetsu-kai's involvement in various matters the chief of police would be interested in, since he had given his word, and Okazaki answered. After a little more than an hour had passed, Akashi stood and walked over to the table of tools again. He had to admit he was a bit disappointed that Okazaki had answered so willingly. He only got to drive one more knife into the man during the interrogation He could have gotten two if he hadn't given the man a second chance on the first question but what was done was done.

However, the game was over now and there was no longer any reason to keep Okazaki alive. Akashi didn't really feel in the mood to play anymore games either, so he picked up the hand gun from the table and pressed it against Okazaki's forehead.

The orange haired man barely flinched. He knew what was coming. He knew the moment he was captured he wasn't getting out alive. His last act of defiance was to stare Akashi in the eyes steady and unafraid before the bullet entered his brain. In less than a second, it was over.

Satisfied, Akashi threw the gun on the table and took back control of himself. After handing out a few orders and giving Okazaki's limp body one last kick for good measure, he left for another shower. He didn't bother with another bath as he didn't feel he needed one this time. He simply washed, dressed, ate, and headed back to the hospital to wait for his lover to wake up. He let Furusawa take the information to the chief of police since if Akashi had to deal with that man again…..he would need another shower.

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 _This story has gotten so long and I haven't even done what I originally set out to do with it yet! Like Dayum._

 _ANYWAY...Comments are appreciated. I hope you've been enjoying this story!_


	24. Chapter 24: Coma

_Sorry if some of the medical details in this chapter are off. I tried. My degree is in psychology not neurology! Totally different things. Sorta. So yeah, I tried. If it's wrong then I apologize._

 _Anyway, I hope you enjoy!_

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A week passed. Kuroko didn't wake up. The Generation of Miracles spent most of their time with him in his room. Akashi kept one hand on Kuroko's arms (since his hands were still bandaged and healing) and one on his weapon almost the entire time, only moving for the bathroom or to make calls. He spent much of the waking hours in a quiet whisper recounting his and Tetsuya's lives before Okazaki. Occasionally someone would chime in but often the rest pretended not to hear, especially the more private stories. Sometimes the others would tell stories too. They all kind of hoped if they kept talking, it would help Kuroko somehow, so that's what they did.

Midorima and Takao had been forced to take at least a week of leave of absence and Midorima spent most of that time checking over Kuroko's charts as if they might change if he just waited a few minutes. He only stopped on the third day when Takao finally pulled the chart from his death grip and forced him to leave it alone. After that, he spent most of the time doing paperwork with his lover or reading medical journals that he believed might be useful. Takao didn't bother stealing those from his grip. The greenette wasn't good with emotions and this was all he could do to keep himself sane. Takao understood that much and at least the journals were a more productive use of time.

Kise and Aomine spent most of the time on Kuroko's other side or the couch with Kise curled up in Aomine's arms. Aomine had taken a weeks leave of absence voluntarily and Kise decided to take a break from his carreer for a while.

Murasakibara didn't stay in the room as much. He wasn't any good at telling stories or just watching idly. Occasionally he spent a few hours in the hall video chatting with his partner back in France, but more often than not, he helped out in the hospital kitchen. Every day he made a different vanilla flavored treat with the small hope that Kuroko would wake up and eat it.

But Kuroko didn't wake up. Another week passed and the months changed, but Kuroko's condition remained the same. Midorima and Takao went back to work although they still frequented Kuroko's room since he was their patient. Aomine went back to work as well, though he was stuck on desk duty till the psychologist cleared him for field work. Murasakibara regretfully flew back to France but promised to return as soon as Kuroko woke. Akashi continued to do his work from the hospital room and would have remained glued to his lovers side 24/7 if not for a certain blond who begged Akashi to teach him how to fight. Kise couldn't stop having nightmares and remembering how useless he felt when he had been stuck in the room and he was also tired of watching his former captain mope around like a lost puppy. It took some work, but Akashi gave in and agreed to train him. First he tried to hand the job off to Furusawa and Nebuya, but apparently it took a special skill to survive Kise's energy and ridiculousness. So in the end, it was Akashi who trained him.

The third week continued much the same and by the fourth week, they all returned to their daily lives more or less. They still visited nearly every day, but they couldn't put their lives on hold forever and honestly, they needed the distraction from their thoughts and fears.

* * *

~Two months after the incident~

"Good morning Shintarō." Akashi greeted the greenette doctor grimly as he handed his trench coat off to Mibuchi. "The others aren't here yet." He noted with a quick glance around the room and took a seat.

Midorima nodded to the window which was presently being battered by the wind and rain outside. "Could be the storm." He countered thoughtfully before checking the clock on the corner of his computer screen. "It could also be the fact your fifteen minutes early."

"I am never early or late."

"What are you? The queen of England?"

"No. I'm Akashi Seijūrō. I'm far better than any queen of England."

Midorima huffed at the ridiculous reply. "Glad to see you can joke around."

"Who said I was joking?" Akashi shrugged smugly before letting a grim expression take over his face. His next sentence came out as barely a whisper. "It's all I can do not to break right now."

The doctor studied Akashi for a moment before nodding, his own face unreadable. A comfortable silence fell over the room as Akashi pulled out his phone and Shintarō went back to sorting various papers on his desk.

About eight minutes of peace passed before it was interrupted by Kise throwing open the door with Aomine close behind.

"Good morning!" The blond greeted cheerily.

Aomine smacked the back of his lovers head and grunted a greeting before dragging the blond to the couch opposite of Akashi. "How do you have so much fucking energy at 5:30 A.M.?" he grumbled.

"Eh? How come you don't!?"

Midorima and Akashi sighed in unison. How were these two bickering at such an early hour should be the real question, but neither of them were going to ask. A voice from Midorima's computer speakers interrupted them.

Midorima gave a nod towards the screen and then turned it to face the others. "And now that everyone is here…." He gestured to the screen showing Murasakibara waving to them.

"Good evening Mido-chin, Aka-chin, Kise-chin, and Mine-chin!" The purple haired giant greeted before Midorima could finish his sentence.

"It's 5 in the fucking morning here." Aomine grumbled as he leaned back and placed his feet on the coffee table, ignoring Midorima's scowl.

"Sorry. I forgot!"

"It's okay, Atsushi." Akashi reassured. "Please continue Shintarō."

"Right." The greenette pushed his glasses higher on his nose. "I called you all here to discuss Kuroko's condition."

"What's there to discuss? Tetsu hasn't woken up yet."

"Exactly." Midorima sighed. "We've run every test and so far, we don't know why he isn't waking up. I've sent his case to dozens of top neurologists, psychologists, and other physicians. While there is some evidence of possible brain damage, it's the type we won't be able to detect with certainty till he wakes up. The overall consensus is that it's not what's keeping him in his comatose state."

"What are you saying Shintarō?"

"There is no physical reason for him not to wake up. That means it's psychological."

"But what does that mean Midorimacchi!? You're not making sense."

"Baka. It means Tetsu doesn't want to wake up. Right?" Aomine looked to Shintarō for confirmation.

Midorima nodded letting his shoulders slump forward. "Right. At least, that's the belief. His body isn't waking up because his mind doesn't want it to."

"Tetsuya doesn't want to live." Akashi half stated and half asked staring at the floor as though it could somehow help him.

"It's possible. This is just a theory though. Psychology in this case is not a science. It's just an assumption." Midorima tried to console the red head.

Akashi shook his head. "No. It makes sense." He sighed and stood, making his way over to the window. Silence enveloped the room again as Akashi absentmindedly traced the water droplets on the other side of the window pane until Aomine finally spoke up.

"What do we do? I mean, how do we get Tetsu to want to wake up? Is there some medicine? Some technique? Some voodoo? Anything we can do?"

"Don't be ridiculous Daiki." Akashi replied calmly before Midorima had a chance. "Voodoo isn't real."

"But we have to do something!" Kise wailed with tears forming in his eyes. "We can't just…"

"Let him die." Midorima finished the blonds statement.

"I don't want Kuro-chin to die."

"If it's what Tetsuya wants…." Akashi clenched his fist as he spoke. "If it's what he wants then…."

"What are you saying?!" Aomine stood and roughly grabbed the red heads shoulders shaking him. Mibuchi nearly tackled the tanned cop but Akashi raised his hand to stop him and met Aomine's gaze with a cold and fierce one of his own.

"I'm saying, if that's what he wants, then maybe we should pull the plug. Isn't that what you called us here for?" Akashi shifted his gaze to Midorima.

Midorima stared back with wide eyes and a gaping mouth at Akashi's assumption before shaking his head. "No." He recomposed himself. "I wasn't suggesting that Akashi. We don't even know for sure if that's what he wants."

"It does make sense though…I mean…Kurokocchi went through things I can't imagine. I don't want to imagine. I don't know if I would want to live after all of that." Kise sniffled and raised his eyes to meet everyone elses gazes. "I'm sorry. I just…"

Aomine sighed and removed his hands from Akashi's shoulders to return to his lover. He wrapped his arms around Kise and letting the blond soak his shirt with tears. "Shh. It's okay." He whispered.

Akashi returned to his seat as well and folded his hands to rest his head on.

"Akashi?" Midorima called out when Kise's sobs died down and no one had spoken for several moments. "Do you really want to pull the plug? I mean, since his parents passed away last year, seeing how you're the next closest person to him…if you want to…"

The red head held up his hand to halt Midorima's sentence and shook his head. "I don't want to. I don't want to think he's given up and I don't want to give up on him." he raised his head to meet the greenette's eyes. "I just don't know what to do? Isn't there anything we can try?"

"There aren't many similar cases documented and even fewer included in treatment studies. If brain injury was the problem, we would have more options, but since it probably isn't, we are limited."

"That doesn't answer my question Shintarō. You didn't drag us all here at such an ungodly hour to tell us he still wasn't awake and you still can't fix it." The red head growled.

"You would have been up at this hour whether you were here or not."

"Well I wouldn't!" Aomine butted in to protest.

"Midorimacchi! Akashicchi! Daikicchi! We're getting off point!" Kise cried out in annoyance effectively gaining the others attention.

Midorima shifted and pushed up his glasses again. "Kise is right. Listen. There is something that might work; it just hasn't been used in a case like this that I could find."

"What is it, Shintarō? What might work?"

Midorima fished a packet of paper from a stack on his desk and passed it to Akashi. "It's a drug. It's been used to wake patients with brain injuries from comas. It's only been somewhat successful in studies, but I don't think it could do any harm."

Akashi studied the papers full of study results before meeting Midorima's eyes. "What do we have to do?"

"If you are asking if there are any hoops to jump through, there aren't. All we have to do is inject the drug and wait an hour or so."

"It's that simple?" Murasakibara asked disbelievingly.

"There's got to be more to it than that. Come on dude. If it was that easy, you would have done it already."

Shaking his head, Midorima stood. "Giving him the drug is simple, but we don't know what's going to happen when he wakes up. If it's true, if he really doesn't want to wake up or even live, it would be going against his wishes."

"Well, we can't know if that's truly what he wants if he's in a coma and can't tell us." Akashi rose from his seat too. The other two nodded and rose as well.

"If Kurokocchi wakes up….we can be there for him. We can help him get through it!"

"I'm down with that." Aomine agreed.

Murasakibara nodded his agreement as well making it unanimous.

"Then we will do it tomorrow. I think everyone should be here if they can. Can you catch a flight out here that soon, Murasakibara?" Midorima concluded.

"Eh. That's kind of soon." The giant replied.

"I'll take care of the arrangements and send you the details Atsushi." Akashi promised.

"Okay. Um…can I bring someone with me?"

"If you mean your partner, Himuro right, then yes."

"Mmhmm! Thanks Aka-chin. I gotta go now! Bye!" Murasakibara waved and the video feed cut off.

"Well, now that that's settled, how about breakfast!" Kise suggested.

The rest of the group nodded in approval and they left the office to grab a bite to eat and further discuss the smaller details of the matter.


	25. Chapter 25: Hands

_Short chapter but I hope you all still enjoy it. Feedback is very very very very very much appreciated by the way!_

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Like the day before, the rain pattered against the windows as the Generation of Miracles, now joined by Takao and Himuro, filed into Kuroko's room.

Akashi settled into the chair beside the bed. Only the shaking of his hands as they cupped Kuroko's showed just how nervous he was. The rest of him was as unreadable as ever, his nerves well hidden behind his business mask, but Akashi with shaky hands spoke volumes alone. No other evidence was necessary.

The rest of the Generation of Miracles was unable to hide their nerves quite as well. Kise pulled Aomine straight to the couch and curled up against his side as close as possible to settle in for the long wait. Aomine wrapped his arm around the blond protectively and held his hand in a fierce grip. Their eyes however locked onto their blue and red haired friends.

Murasakibara had his usual bored expression, but his hold on his boyfriend and lack of food in his hands were obvious indicators that he was just as nervous as everyone else. He had also refused breakfast that morning. Only Himuro and Akashi, who had picked both of them up from the airport, knew about that though.

Midorima wasn't hiding anything either with the tenseness of his features and the way he held his lucky item, a Beethoven CD, in a death grip. He carefully placed a red scarf next to Kuroko's free hand since that was the lucky item for Aquarius that day. With that done, he proceeded to hand out everyone else's items as well. He gave Akashi a roll of grey sticky tape which was placed in the latter's pocket. He then handed Kise an orange pen and gave a manga book to Aomine. Both Takao and Himuro got a packet of instant ramen in their favorite flavors (Midorima texted Murasakibara to ask that morning) and Murasakibara was given a picture of a plateau for his lucky item.

Once everyone was settled in and holding onto their lucky items, Midorima gripped Takao's hand and Takao uncapped the needle and administered the drug. It would take about an hour to take effect, assuming it worked, but everyone seemed to hold their breath. For the next hour, only the pitter patter of the rain on the window, the steady beep of the heart monitor, and the intermittent hums of life support filled the tense room.

Suddenly a quiet alarm on Takao's phone sounded to alert him an hour had passed. Silencing it, he pulled the small flash light from his coat pocket and removed his hand from Midorima's to check Kuroko for any sign of change. He pulled back Kuroko's eye lids and moved the light but there was no response. He tried again and still nothing happened.

"I…..I don't think it worked…." He whispered shakily and stepped back. Every pair of desperate eyes bore into him. He wished he could offer them some sort of comfort, but he could only meet their gazes with his own and shake his head defeated. "I'm sorry."

"K…Kurokocchi….isn't g..going to wake up?" Kise asked as the tears welled up in his eyes.

"C…can we wait another hour? M…Maybe Tetsu just n…needs more time…."

"Yeah…M..maybe Kuro-chin is just slow…."

Midorima shook his head and stood. "It didn't work. It was a long shot to begin with."

"B..but Kurokocchi…"

"It didn't work!" Midorima shouted and glared at the blond while clenching his free fist. "It didn't work, Kise. Another hour, hell, another five won't change that!" He growled. He didn't mean to take his frustrations with his failure out on Kise, but he did.

Kise stared wide eyed for a moment before breaking down completely. After shooting Midorima a deadly glare for upsetting his lover, Aomine did his best to calm Kise down, but the fact he was crying too wasn't helping matters.

Midorima turned away and stared out the window to hide his own tears and Takao tried to comfort him as the sound of muffled sobs joined the sounds of rain on the window and hums and beeps of the machines that filled the room. No one looked to see how Akashi was taking the news and Akashi didn't say anything. He was devastated too of course, but he couldn't seem to cry or lash out. He just gripped Kuroko's hand tighter in a silent plea for the bluenette to wake up and closed his eyes.

After a while, everyone left and Akashi was alone with Kuroko. Tired of listening to the machines, he began to talk about high school again. It was the same story he had probably told a hundred times in the past few months; the one about how he asked Kuroko out. Technically, the story covered all four times he asked him out because Kuroko didn't agree the first time. Kuroko didn't even know he was being asked out the first time! Or the second time….but he figured it out the third time…except he thought Akashi was joking. All in all, it took four times for the bluenette to say yes. Looking back now, Akashi was glad it took four times. Instead of one great memory, he got four. The other three weren't great memories when they were formed, sure, but in hindsight, he wouldn't trade them for anything….except for Kuroko to come back to him. He would trade anything for that, be it his own life or the entire world.

But this was out of his control.

Morning turned to afternoon and afternoon turned to evening. Akashi kept retelling the same old stories till the clock struck eight. He swallowed and with one hand brushed Kuroko's hair aside to place his lips on the bluenettes pale forehead. A few tears fell from his eyes and dripped onto Kuroko's sleeping face. Akashi pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away the drops on Kuroko's face then dabbed at the rest of his tears. Slowly he made his way to a standing position. He closed his eyes for brief second. When he reopened them, he rested his gaze on Kuroko's closed eyelids and his lips formed a tiny sad smile.

"I love you Tetsuya." He whispered and squeezed his lover's hand. Placing another kiss on Kuroko's cheek, he loosened the grip on his hand and began to untangle their interlocked fingers.

It was barely noticeable. It was so slight it could have easily been missed or mistaken as his tired mind playing tricks on him, but he knew he felt it. That slight squeeze. That slight curl of Kuroko's fingers and the lightest sense of pressure against the skin of his hand. Akashi pulled his head back to look at their hands and re-established his own grip on the Kuroko's thin hand giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Tetsuya." He whispered a bit louder than his previous words. He gave a gentle squeeze to Kuroko's hand and waited, hoping Kuroko would respond. Nothing happened.

He knew he had felt Kuroko squeeze his hand though. It wasn't his imagination. If his imagination wanted to play silly tricks on him, it had two whole months. Yet in two months, Kuroko hadn't moved. Even though his brain was functioning and other patients in similar circumstances exhibited twitches and other movements, Kuroko had always been still.

Akashi knew he should probably page Midorima or Takao, but he wanted to feel that movement again. He was desperate to feel that sign of life; that sign of hope. He tried calling out Kuroko's name again and squeezing his hand again but again, nothing happened.

He called out a third time, but instead of squeezing Kuroko's hand, he slowly began taking his hand away with deliberate motions. Like before, he felt the slightest squeeze.

Smiling, he lowered himself back into the seat beside the bed and gently returned the squeeze.

"It's okay Tetsuya. I won't leave if you don't want me to. I'm here."

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All the lucky items are in accordance with Oha Asa's horoscope for the day this was written (Feb 19th).

Comments appreciated.


	26. Chapter 26: Awake

_I AM SO SORRY! I know, it took me over a month to update this and I'm really really really sorry. I just couldn't figure out how to work the scene where he wakes up...the transition was/is difficult. Anyway, I hope it turned out okay. I wanted to make it somewhat realistic even though fiction loves to wake people up from comas without the slightest bit of realism present. I realize I probably still failed to some extent (partially because I think I made some mistakes in earlier chapters but I'm not going back to fix it) so I'm sorry if some of the medical stuff is still wrong. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and I would love to hear your thoughts on everything so far!_

 _Thank you for waiting!_

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"It's not much, but it could mean he is beginning to wake up." Midorima concluded as he finished checking Kuroko for any more responses after being paged in by Akashi. "Could you try taking your hand away again?"

Once again, Akashi slowly unlatched his fingers from Kuroko's and began to pull away till Kuroko squeezed ever so slightly. However, the squeeze was getting increasingly stronger even if it was only by miniscule amounts.

Midorima nodded and wrote something down on the chart he was holding. "Although it's not a usual response, it's there alright."

"Is it the drug?" Akashi asked as he re-established his grip on Kuroko's hand.

"No. The drug would have woken him up almost instantly and it's would not have taken so long to act. This is him waking up on his own."

"So he wants to wake up?"

Midorima shrugged and went about checking the machines and tubes. "Don't get too excited." He warned. "It could still be weeks before he fully wakes up….and things will only get more complicated after that. I'll inform the psych department of the development."

"The psych department?" Akashi raised an eyebrow and fixed Midorima with a curious, if not suspicious, glare. "Why?"

Turning his attention to Akashi, Midorima adjusted his glasses and took a preparatory inhale. "Let's talk outside." He suggested and led the way to the hallway. He made sure the door was fully closed before making his next statement. "Kuroko will need to be seen by a psychologist once he wakes up. Speaking of psychologists, you really should consider talking to one yourself in fact."

"You think Tetsuya will be willing to talk to a stranger when he wakes? He barely let us near him before….before the incident." Akashi asked.

"He doesn't need to talk to them. He doesn't need to interact with them. The psychologist can make useful assessments by observing him and his interactions with those he is willing to let close. It will allow us to form a more suitable plan of care for him. And don't dodge my other suggestion."

"I'm not seeing a psychologist, Shintarō." Akashi focused his eyes on Kuroko's figure through the window in attempt to keep himself from lashing out at the mere suggestion of such nonsense.

"Akashi…..Everyone else has talked to someone…."

"I don't need a shrink. I just need Tetsuya to wake up."

"You went through someth-"

"I'm Yakuza, Shintarō. It's practically in the job description to experience such things."

Midorima took a deep inhale and exhaled slowly counting to three in his head. "You're human." He started bluntly. "As much as you try to deny it through your actions and words, you are human. When Kuroko wakes up, things will be, for a lack of better terms, messy. You want to care for him, but I'm not sure you fully understand what that even entails. No matter how strong he was or is, he won't be the same person he was. At best, he'll be a shadow of his former self. At worst, he will remain the way he was when you found him for the rest of his life, afraid of everything and unable to fully communicate with or understand his surroundings. Meanwhile, you have a yakuza group to run and enemies to handle who will see him as your weakness and try to get at both of you. There will be no time for you to lose sleep to your nightmares- yes I know about them; Mibuchi told me- and if you wake up screaming in the middle of the night while Kuroko is there, your going to do damage you don't intend," Midorima paused to take another deep inhale before continuing, "and I know you don't want to hurt him. You love him. You want to stay with him even though you have no legal binding to do so and no one would blame you if you left this very second. Even though you may never have a normal relationship with him. Even though he may never be okay again. But Akashi, if you try to help him while that 'incident' as you refer to it is still haunting you, you will fail him….again. So for the love of Oha Asa. For the love of Kuroko. If you won't talk to someone and sort out that twisted psychopathic mess of head of yours for yourself, do it for him. And do it for the rest of us so we don't have to wring your scrawny neck when you unintentionally hurt him further because of your damn pride and hard head!"

Akashi shrunk back against the wall stunned at the sudden outburst of his usually calm and cautious friend. Not only had Midorima gotten himself flustered in an almost emotional sounding speech, he had practically shouted at Akashi, usually a fatal choice in the case of most people. And perhaps, if there hadn't been a good bit of logic to his words, Midorima might have become a bloodied corpse in the middle of that deserted hallway right then and there. But he didn't. And was Akashi….trembling?

After what felt like eternity, but was only ten minutes give or take a few, Akashi nodded slumping against the wall. "Okay, Shintarō. You win." He closed his eyes and took a breath. "Make me an appointment…." He conceded the argument with an order.

"Wait…really?" Midorima responded not believing his ears. Yes, he put everything into that speech that he had and even made use of the tips Takao had given him, but he didn't expect Akashi to give that easily. He wasn't going to wait around and give the red head a chance to retract the agreement though. With a stiff nod, he pushed up his glasses and promised to inform Akashi of the appointment time before leaving Akashi to dwell on his thoughts.

* * *

It took a little more than a week for Kuroko to fully wake up. Ten days to be exact. By then, the life support machines had been removed and he was only hooked up to IV's, monitors, and a feeding tube.

Kuroko's eyes flickered open the same way they had on multiple occasions. Normally, no one would take notice…..except Kise happened to be in the room at the time. Every time Kuroko so much as twitched, Kise demanded Midorima come in and examine him. For once, that turned out to be a good thing.

Midorima dragged his feet along the floor as he closed the door and approached the bed. "This is the fifth time today, Kise. I was sleeping." He grumbled as he pulled his flashlight from his coat pocket.

"But I think he's awake this time." Kise whispered confusing Midorima. Why would Kise whisper? Was he that sure of his observation?

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Midorima leaned over the bed and studied his patient and then he understood. Kuroko's eyes were wide as his brows knit together. The entirety of his frame was trembling and his mouth was parted in a silent cry.

"K…Kuroko." Midorima whispered pulling back. "I'm sorry."

Kise gasped understanding Midorima's words meant Kuroko had, in fact, woken up. It wasn't a misunderstanding on Kise's part again. Midorima gave him a glare though, wordlessly telling him to be still and quiet. It seemed Kuroko was still shaken up. Glancing at the heart monitor, he realized Kuroko's heart rate was speeding up more than he would like. Kuroko was most certainly terrified.

"Kuroko, it's just me, Midorima. Remember, Midorima-kun and Kise-kun." Midorima called himself and Kise using the honorifics Kuroko always used. He wasn't sure if that would help or not. "You're in the hospital."

The trembling continued, but still no sound was uttered by the bluenette. Midorima didn't have time to figure out why. He backed away and gestured for Kise to follow him while mouthing to the blond to move slowly. The last thing they needed to do was spook Kuroko further. Of course, he briefly considered administering a sedative, but decided against it. As long as there was no immediate danger of the anxiety Kuroko was experiencing causing physical damage, he would rather not risk putting Kuroko back into a state of unconsciousness. There was another option.

Both men retreated to the far side of the room. Midorima faced away from the patient and bent over till his mouth was next to Kise's ear so he could whisper. "Akashi is sleeping in my office. Wake him and tell him Kuroko is awake but he's frightened. Bring him here as quickly as possible."

"Should I run?" Kise asked. It was a hospital after all, but running would be quickest. When Midorima nodded, he smirked. "I'll be so fast you'll think I was Aomine!" He whispered a bit too loudly and Midorima resisted the urge to smack him before pushing him out the door. Displaying violence in Kuroko's vicinity was probably as bad an idea as being loud.

Once Kise was out of the room, Midorima turned to meet Kuroko's gaze. "Kise-kun is going to get Akashi-kun for you. I'm going to come closer okay, but I'm not going to touch you." He warned and stepped forward again. "I'm going to press a button on this screen," he gestured towards the monitor that was beeping loudly, "so the sound isn't so loud," then pressed the button till the beeping was almost entirely muted. Sometimes the sound representing the heart beat made patients more anxious though his actions were somewhat selfish as well. He hated the beeping when each beep was so close together.

The quieting of the monitor and the mention of Akashi didn't seem to have much effect on Kuroko's state. Midorima wondered if Kuroko even comprehended his words. Kuroko's mouth remained opened in what Midorima could only interpret as a silent scream and tears fell down the bluenettes mouth, but the doctor didn't dare reach out and wipe them away. Biting the inside of his cheek and stealing himself, he tried to assure his patient again. "S…..Sei will be here shortly." He whispered, this time using the name he knew Kuroko called Akashi in private. It felt awkward and he felt a heat rising in his cheeks, but it was worth it to see Kuroko's stare focus more and hear the monitor relax ever so slightly.

Suddenly, cold wiry fingers brushed Midorima's wrist and gripped onto the sleeve of his white doctors coat. Glancing down, he realized Kuroko had grasped onto the fabric. Kuroko's eyes were focused on his face as well. "Kuroko?" he whispered and almost regretted speaking when Kuroko flinched. But Kuroko didn't let go. He held on tighter until the door to the room opened stealing his attention.

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 **Comments/feedback appreciated!**


	27. Chapter 27: Reunited

_**I know I took forever to update again. I'm sorry. This chapter was supposed to be longer too...**_

 _ **Anyway, please don't kill me but there probably won't be any more updates until sometime in August. I'm going to be busy next month and then gone all of July. I'm also planning on doing some major editing on this story as well. There are some continuity issues and a few things that just don't make any sense and I want to fix them before I continue on.**_

 _ **Anyway, Akashi and Kuroko finally reunite. I know many of you were waiting for this. I hope it turned out as good as you expected. I had a hard time deciding exactly how it should play out.**_

 _ **Also, let me know if something doesn't make sense. I edited this chapter many times so it's entirely possible something got missed...**_

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Throwing open the office door, Kise's eyes darted around till they landed on Akashi's sleeping figure. He dashed over and nearly threw the red head off the couch with his shaking to wake him.

Akashi's hand grasped Kise's wrist and was about to break it till Akashi opened his eyes and realized the hand's owner wasn't a threat…..probably. "Ryou-"

"KUROKOCCHI'S AWAKE!"

Wide eyed, Akashi scrambled off the couch. "Are you-" he started to ask.

"Yes! But Midorimacchi thinks he's scared and we need you to come calm him down and he's crying cuz I think we fr-" he didn't get the chance to finish. Akashi was already sprinting down the hallway towards the room.

Kuroko was awake. Kuroko was finally awake!

He didn't stop till he reached the door to Kuroko's room. Before he grabbed the cold metal door handle, he took a deep breath with his eyes closed to compose himself. If Kuroko was awake, he wanted nothing more than to dash into the room and hug him as tightly as he could, but that was not an option. He wanted to do a lot of things that weren't an option which is why he was taking a moment to calm himself. When he opened his eyes again, he twisted the door knob and forced open the barrier between him and Kuroko. It was oddly quiet without the beeping of the monitor. Stepping inside, his eyes immediately landed on the bed, more specifically, the figure in the bed.

Sky blue eyes still flooding with tears studied the new presence in the room before his fingers uncurled themselves from Midorima's coat sleeve and reached across his body towards Akashi. A quiet moan escaped Kuroko's throat and his hand retracted to his mouth. Eyes wide as saucers, he sunk his teeth into the side of his index finger.

Kuroko didn't know where he was. He didn't know if the bad men were nearby. He didn't know if he was allowed to talk. The room looked like a hospital and the only people he could see were Akashi and Midorima. It was probably safe. But what if it wasn't? What if he wasn't allowed to make noise? No one gave him permission yet.

Afraid that his slip up might lead to something awful happening to him or the others, Kuroko squeezed his eyes shut in expectation and held his breath. He waited for several moments to pass in near silence before opening one eye just enough to gauge whether some inaudible sort of violence towards the red head had taken place or if such violence was being prepared to be taken out on himself. There was none.

"Tetsuya?" Akashi stepped forward and reached for the hand in Kuroko's mouth. The bluenette flinched and shrank away from the sudden closeness but his features soon relaxed once his brain had time to comprehend that no one was getting hurt and the hand belonged to the red head.

No. It belonged to Akashi. It belonged to Sei. Sei was alive. Sei was alive and standing beside him. At least, that's how it seemed. It could be a trick or a dream, but Kuroko had dreamed about him and this felt different.

Akashi was pulling his hand away but Kuroko reached out to grab it. The grip was cold and weak, but determined nonetheless. A fresh wave of tears overflowed from Kuroko's reddening eyes though they were shed silently.

"Shhh… Tetsuya. It's okay. It's okay." Akashi lightly squeezed Kuroko's hand and, after an internal debate with himself on whether it was safe or not, he reached his free hand to card through Kuroko's hair. "It's okay to cry," he reassured, "I'm here."

At first, Kuroko flinched from the unexpected contact again, but he didn't pull away. If anything, he seemed to melt into the hand. Small whines escaped his throat as the sobs wracked his frail body and his hand gripped Akashi's even tighter. When nothing bad happened after the first few whines, Kuroko allowed himself to cry harder and not hold back. He lifted his head towards Akashi wanting to be closer. Too weak from years of malnourishment and months of sleeping and not being able to use his right arm to assist himself, he only managed a few inches before crashing back into the pillow. That was okay. Akashi understood the gesture and bent over pulling Kuroko into a secure embrace.

Even knowing it was Sei and knowing Sei's intentions behind the movement, Kuroko couldn't help but stiffen at first. Every touch still frightened him, but Sei would never hurt him and he knew that. He soon melted into the embrace taking in Akashi's comforting scent and feeling reassured by Akashi's strong arms.

Deciding it would be awhile before Kuroko would be calm enough for any evaluations to take place, Midorima stepped away from the bed. He wasn't needed here right now.

"I'll be outside," he whispered passing by Akashi. Akashi's eyes met his to acknowledge he heard. With one last look at his two friends, Midorima slipped out of the room soundlessly, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

Once the greenette was gone, Akashi focused the entirety of his attention back to Kuroko. Freeing one arm, he lowered the bed railing so he could adjust to a more comfortable position and sit on the bed. He had a feeling Kuroko would be glued to him for a while. How long probably depended on how long Kuroko's energy lasted. Akashi didn't mind though. He wanted to be by Kuroko as much as Kuroko wanted to be by him even if that meant being a bit uncomfortable and his shirt was getting covered in tears and snot.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, he realized his shirt wasn't the only one getting wet. Adjusting his arm, his fingers brushed his cheek. He hadn't realized he'd been crying too. They were happy tears though. Akashi couldn't remember the last time he had been happy enough to cry or if there even was such a time.

Akashi tightened his arms around Kuroko's frail shaking body and let his own tears flow. The person that meant the most to him in this world was finally safe in his arms again. Tetsuya was his again. Nothing else mattered.


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